


Harry Potter, Post Script: Heroes, Hope and Horrors

by midnightephemera



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Post - Deathly Hallows, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-09 04:34:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1969263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightephemera/pseuds/midnightephemera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation fanfic of the Harry Potter series after the demise of the Dark Lord. What happens in the 19 years before the epilogue? How do the two new couples deal with new responsibilities and one more year of school before them? Book One of the Post Script Saga</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to that genius of a British writer. All ideas for this continuation are my own, but that’s not to say that someone else hasn’t already used them in their own story.

**Chapter 1 - Guilt**

“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead - ”

“This is my last warning - ”

“Not Harry! Please… have mercy … Not Harry! Please - I’ll do anything…”

Harry awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. It took a moment for him to unfog his mind from it’s sleepy state, while he winced in the sunlight that was streaming in through the window. He rubbed his face with his palms, then shook his head a few times as he tried to clear the nightmare from his mind. With a sigh, he reached over to the bedside table and put on his glasses, looking around.

He was in Ron’s bedroom at the Burrow, and the incoming sunlight was playing harshly on the vast amount of orange-colored Chudley Cannons posters in the room. Another wince crossed Harry’s face, and he focused on the one non-orange item on the bedroom walls; a calendar pinned to the wall next to the door. He stared at it for a moment, until he remembered what day it was.

May 6th. Only four days ago Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Weasley’s, and hundreds of others had stood up to Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. To Harry it seemed as if it had been years ago, and just yesterday at the same time. With a soft sigh, he turned a bit and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking. A lot had happened in the last 96 hours. It had felt like one giant blur to Harry, and as much as he didn’t want to relive any of it, he felt he had to.

\---

After repairing his own broken wand and leaving Dumbledore’s office, he and Ron and Hermione made their way to Gryffindor tower. They walked slowly, taking in all the damage to the school they had called home for so long. Harry walked a bit behind the two of them, the thoughts and memories of everyone who had died consuming him.

Just before they got to the Fat Lady’s portrait, he noticed that Hermione had dropped her head onto Ron’s shoulder as they walked, quiet sobs escaping her. Ron was just putting his arm around her, and Harry couldn’t help but smile. Even through all they’d been through, something good was happening in front of him.

That night passed too quickly for any of their liking. They all slept in the boy’s old dormitory, Hermione in Seamus’ old bed, not wanting to leave each other alone. Sometime during the night though, Hermione must have crawled into Ron’s bed, because there they were in the morning, holding each other in their sleep.

The next two days were rough on everyone. The reality of what had happened was sinking in to everyone. There was still joy and satisfaction in everyone’s eyes when the trio showed up for meals, but thoughts still lingered on the nearly 60 people who had died.

The three kept to themselves for the most part, finding different spots around the castle and grounds to just sit near each other and think, or talk softly. Harry had been blaming himself for everything; all those people had died, Fred, Lupin, Tonks, for him. To give him time to find what he needed to find. If only he had been able to do everything sooner, If only.

George had eventually gotten through all the sorrow Harry was feeling. It was strange, but out of all the Weasley’s, George seemed to be taking Fred’s death the best. Over a beef stew one night in the Great Hall, he looked pointedly at Harry and spoke up.

“Harry, no one here blames you for anything, most of all me. Everyone who came to help made their decision, and they knew there was a chance they wouldn’t be here celebrating at the end of it all. You didn’t kill anyone Harry, it was all Voldemort and the Death Eaters.”

The surviving twin kept his strong gaze up, and looked at his whole family. Mrs. Weasley had tears falling out of puffy red eyes that hadn’t cleared in days, and he put his hand on top of her’s.

“If Fred was here, he would be appalled that we were all sitting here crying. All of the Weasley children nodded in unison, imagining what Fred would be saying, smiles appearing on their faces.

Ginny had looked at Harry then, a slight smile and a look on her face that told him what she was feeling. She wanted to talk with him, Harry knew, but she would wait for him, until he was ready to. He smiled back at her and nodded slightly, silently thanking her.

 

* * *

 

Harry and the Weasley’s had all left Hogwarts together on the 5th. They didn’t go straight home to the Burrow however. Every one of them was there at the funerals for Remus and Tonks, and throughout it Harry could not stop watching Teddy Lupin; Remus and Tonk’s baby boy, and his godson. He felt guilty, knowing that the little boy would never get to know his parents, just like Harry. Before they all left and Apparated for the Burrow, Harry swore to himself that Teddy would have a loving family growing up, and that he would be there to tell the boy all about his parents.

That night, they all gathered in a circle around the grave that had been dug for Fred, up on a hill close to the Burrow that the Weasley family owned. The mood was somber, until George spoke. He and Fred had apparently discussed what they each wanted in case of their untimely deaths, and with a wave of his wand, George turned each of their robes and dresses into a different color.

Those werent the only changes to their attire though. From inside Ginny’s pockets there was small pink hearts trying to escape, from Mr. Weasley’s pockets there were various Muggle artifacts and devices. Each family member in turned started laughing and smiling as they took it in turn to find what was hiding on them, but they all had a roar of a laugh when a small colony of spiders marched out of Ron’s pocket. Even Mrs. Weasley had a chuckle at that, not even looking at George with a scowl.

 

* * *

 

They had all stayed up pretty late that night, sitting in the living room of the Burrow and drinking Firewhiskey in toasts to Fred and all the others. Harry couldn’t remember what time he and Ron had made their way up to the room, but he was sure it was very late in the night, and his head agreed. All he wanted to do was lay down again and fall back asleep, but he knew it wouldn't be possible.

With a sigh, he got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. He made his way quietly down the staircase, stopping at the door to Ginny’s room. Not hearing either Ginny or Hermione making any noise in there, he continued down onto the main floor.

He could hear Mrs. Weasley starting to make some breakfast in the kitchen and the back door opening, but his eye caught a bit of long, red hair in the living room, and he doubled back to look in.

Ginny was there, sitting in the corner of the large sofa, looking out through a window. He smiled and walked into the room behind her, careful to make some noise so that he wouldn’t startle her. Once he got close, she turned around to see who it was, and a smile crossed her face. She was still wearing her pajamas, a loose light green t-shirt and flannel pants. Patting the seat next to her, she cleared her throat softly.

“Hi, Harry,” she said softly, “do you want to come talk?”

Harry nodded, moving to sit next to her, but Mrs. Weasley walked into the room just then.

“Ah, Harry. Good, you’re awake. You have a visitor,” she said to him quickly, motioning to the kitchen. “Ginny, would you be a dear and go wake Hermione and Ron? They should be here for this too, and breakfast is almost ready.”

With that, Mrs. Weasley walked out of the room and back into the kitchen, her voice carrying a bit as she talked to the visitor, asking if they wanted anything to eat. Harry and Ginny both sighed at the same time. They smiled a bit at that, and as Ginny got up to go upstairs, Harry took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, looking at her. No words came out of his mouth, but she nodded back to him with a smile.

“Later,” she said softly, “we can talk later.”

Harry just nodded back to her and watched as she bounded up the stairs. After a few moments he made his way into the kitchen to see who it was calling on them this early in the morning.

As he turned the corner into the kitchen, he could see an older witch taking a seat at the table and taking off her black hat.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat Minerva?” Mrs. Weasley asked her.

Harry stopped for a moment.

It was Professor McGonagall.


	2. A Plethora of News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to that genius of a British writer. All ideas for this continuation are my own, but that’s not to say that someone else hasn’t already used them in their own story.

**Chapter 2 - A Plethora of News**

Harry stood still for a moment, wondering why Professor McGonagall was sitting there at the kitchen table, and what she wanted from him, Hermione and Ron. Realizing he was going to look foolish just standing there, he walked over to Mrs. Weasley and helped her bring some plates over to the table.

McGonagall was shaking her head, but smiling upwards at Mrs. Weasley. “Thank you Molly, but I’m alright, really. I ate before coming over.”

Harry took a seat across the table from her, and she nodded at him. “Good morning Harry,” she said kindly, with a small smile on her face. “Don’t let me keep you from your breakfast, We should wait for the others to join us, I have news that you’ll all want to hear.”

He nodded back to her, not saying anything as he piled a few sausages and some toast onto his plate. From up above he could hear the sounds of doors opening and closing, and within a few minutes, Ginny had reappeared with Hermione and Ron in tow. They had all changed into something nicer than pajamas.

McGonagall nodded at them. “Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley,” she said in her normal greeting voice, motioning for them to take seats at the table. She looked up at Ginny who hadn’t left, and there was a thoughtful look on her face.

Harry finally spoke up. “Professor, Ginny might as well stay. We were going to tell her everything that you told us anyway.” He looked pointedly at his teacher and Head of House. “I’m also assuming that you wanted to ask us what exact were were doing this past year,” he said, and getting a nod in response. “It’s about time we told Ginny and Mrs. Weasley what happened, so if it’s all the same…” he asked trailing off.

McGonagall thought for a moment and nodded. “Very well. I don’t suppose that you three want to keep repeating what has to be a long and interesting story over and over.”

Ginny put a hand on Harry’s left shoulder and squeezed it in a sign of thanks, taking a seat next to him at the table. Mrs. Weasley sat down at the table as well, next to Prof. McGonagall, setting down a mug of tea in front of their guest, and Harry started recounting their story, looking to Hermione and Ron from time to time for support.

It took quite a while for the three to explain what they had done, starting with their run in with the Death Easter right after Apparating away from Bill and Fleur’s wedding, to camping in the woods each night. Ron got around to telling about the part where he had left the other two to go back home, and because Harry already knew what Ginny’s reaction would be, he was able to stop her from reaching around his back and beating up on her brother.

Mrs. Weasley’s face had a mixture of shock at her daughter for her behavior and shock at her son for what he had done, but Prof. McGonagall couldn't resist letting out a very soft and short chuckle at the scene in front of her.

Harry quickly went on with the story, making sure to mention that if Ron hadn’t had left them, he wouldn't have been able to save Harry in the lake where they had found Godric Gryffindor’s sword.

When the story was done, it stayed quiet in the room. Everyone, even Mrs. Weasley who had started crying a bit during the last bits was looking at Professor McGonagall. The new headmistress took a few moments to process all that information, then nodded.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, “that answers many questions.”

She lifted her mug of tea to take a sip, but then realized she had drained it while listening. Mrs. Weasley immediately pointed her wand at the tea kettle and poured her more.

After clearing her throat, the older witch looked at each of the 4 students in front of her. “Well, I did say I was bringing news, so here it is. The school’s Board of Governors met last night, and it was agreed that Hogwarts should re-open in the fall, provided that we can repair all the damage done to the castle in time.”

McGonagall paused. “From the outpouring of promises to help, I don’t believe opening the school on time will be a problem,” she said, noticing everyone’s smiles. “Now, for the main part of why I am here. I assume that you, Ms. Weasley will be returning to start and finish your 7th year at Hogwarts,” she paused as she got an emphatic nod from Ginny, “but would also like to know if you three would consider returning this year to finish your education as well.”

Harry, Hermione and Ron all looked at each other, from the looks of it none of them had thought about it.

McGonagall continued. “We are offering all of this past year’s 7th year students the chance to return to school again to either start or finish their N.E.W.T. courses. Gods know that between all the expulsions, no-shows, and students hiding in secret rooms for parts of the year, not much learning was had.”

“Also,” she continued, “if you do choose to return to Hogwarts, I would ask each of the four of you for some extra help.”

The trio looked at each other quickly. It was apparent to everyone in the room that Hermione wanted to return for her N.E.W.T.s, and Mrs. Weasley’s stern look at Ron pretty much answered the question for him.

Harry had honestly not thought about the possibility of returning to finish 7th year, but after thinking for a minute, he nodded.

McGonagall looked extremely happy at this news, and continued on. “Very well then, if it is alright with everyone present, then I would like to offer the roles of Head boy and Head Girl to Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. Additionally,” she said quickly, seeing the surprised look on everyone’s faces, “I would like to offer you Mr. Potter and you Ms. Weasley the roles of Head Prefects, and of course, Joint Captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”

Seeing the look of confusement going around the room, Prof. McGonagall smiled. “Yes, I did say Head Prefects. Hogwarts has never before offered this role to any student, but I dare say, with all the work the teachers will be needing to do this coming year, it would be helpful to have two extra pairs of hands if need be. I do hope you all accept these roles,” she said carefully.

“It would help build confidence in the school again throughout the wizarding community to see heroes such as yourselves there this year, and I dare say that you will all have the respect of most every student. Not to mention,” she said with a proud look on her face, “having four of the best duelists around, just in case the remaining Death Eater’s decide to take a chance at the school again.”

All four smiled wide, not even having to look at each other and nodding at the same time.

“Very good then. As you know, each year the Head Boy and Girl receive their own suite of rooms to use privately during the school year. As I am sure there will be questions upon questions from all direction aimed at the lot of you this fall, I will allow Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley to also have access to the Head’s suite of rooms, if you so wish.”

Harry smiled, grateful for the offer. “It would be more private, yes thank you Professor.” There were smiles abound at the table.

Mrs. Weasley couldn’t have been more excited. “Oh my!” she kept exclaiming over and over, “another Head Boy in the family, but really…” she said, beaming down at them all. “Even though you aren’t my children Hermione, Harry, are you ARE part of this family, and the thought of you all being asked, oh dear!...” she said, standing up and releasing all her excitable energy by making more food.

The laughs couldn’t be contained, and even McGonagall joined in on it. As they all calmed down, McGonagall reached for her hat and nodded at everyone. “Very good then. I’ll see you all again this summer, I’m sure. Thank you again for your hospitality Molly, but I do need to get going. The Ministry is sending over a couple dozen re-builders and Charms experts this afternoon to make plans for rebuilding the school and I should be there.”

She stood, and Mrs. Weasley walked with her out into the yard, as the four friends looked at each with big grins on their faces. Hugs and handshakes were passed all around, though the hugging was a bit more tender and noticeable between the two pairs.

 

Mrs. Weasley walked back inside, still all excitable, and this brought another round of laughter into the room.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the Weasley family learned of the quartet’s new roles over the rest of that morning and afternoon. The news seemed to spread beyond the Burrow, however. Just as everyone was cleaning up after lunch, a large and very proud-looking tawny owl swooped in through the open kitchen window and landed on the counter in front of Mrs. Weasley.

After reading the note quickly, Mrs. Weasley looked up at everyone with a bemused look on her face. “It’s from the Minister…” she said as everyone looked over. “Kingsley’s asking if it would be alright to stop by for dinner tonight… oh dear,” she said, getting into an excitable mood again, “two important visitors in one day…”

Harry grinned at Ginny, who had been putting clean dishes away. She rolled her eyes but giggled softly behind her hand. She’d grown up with her mother’s moods and was used to them.

During a break in Mrs. Weasley’s verbal planning, Harry interrupted and let her know that he would reply to the Minister, and the Weasley mother nodded back at him, before setting everyone a long list of chores and things to do to get ready. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Percy, who had not gone in to work that day, all sighed quietly, knowing that they’d be working right up until dinner.

Harry walked outside through the back door and pulled out his wand, focusing on the spell and message he wanted to send with his eyes tightly closed, and when he opened them, he saw his stag Patronus erupting out of his wand. It took a few leaps and bounds around the backyard, and then shot straight upwards in the air towards London.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, and a whiff of a flowery scent, he smiled. “Hi Gin,” he said quietly, not even looking back.

Ginny smiled. “That was pretty good Harry,” she said, “I didn’t know you knew how to send a message via Patronus…”

Harry stepped down off the concrete step and onto the grass, turning and pulling Ginny down with him as he leaned against the side of the house. “I didn’t, actually…” he started, looking into her eyes with a smile. “I just thought of it, and somehow I knew that I could pull it off, “ he said with a shrug.

He pulled her into a close hug, wrapping his arms around her. “I’ve missed you Gin,” he said quietly. Ginny nodded into his shoulder, not saying anything then but breathing a large sigh of relief.

It felt good standing there, Harry thought. After everything that had happened, he had survived, and so had Ginny, and now they had more time with each other. Forever, he hoped.

A bright flash broke him out of his reverie, and his eyes snapped to the source. Down the lane leading the Burrow’s front door, he could see a few people gathering, some with cameras. With a sigh, he stood up straight, motioning to the reporters. “It seems we have company, again.” she said to Ginny, as he took out his wand.

Taking aim carefully, he cleared his throat and shouted, “Protego!”, setting a large, invisible wall on the path right where it met the road. Ginny smiled her approval, as Mrs. Weasley came outside in a hurry, her own wand drawn.

“Such rudeness!” she exclaimed, raising her wand to the sky and muttering some incantations, setting certain protections around the house. “We’ve lost people, been through hell and back, and all they want to do is sell copies!”

Ginny met Harry’s gaze, and both agreed silently that it would probably be best to slip inside and get to work on the chore list before they caught her mother’s rage as well.

 

* * *

 

The sky was dark outside as the whole Weasley family and Kingsley Shacklebolt finished the rather large dinner that Mrs. Weasley had worked on nearly the whole afternoon. The new interim Minister had brought along a few bottles of Firewhiskey, and so as the dishes were cleared away, two of the bright red bottles were floating along the wide table, fillling everyone’s glasses.

“Thank you again Minister, for joining us,” Mr. Weasley started, stopping when he saw Shacklebolt’s hand rise.

“Please. No formalities, no sir’s, no Mr. Minister, not from anyone here,” he said pointedly as he took a sip from his glass. “This family has saved my life countless times, and we’ve worked together so long that I am nothing more than your friend Kingsley,” he said with a smile. “Now, for the reason I’m here, though dinner was a treat in and of itself Molly.”

Mrs. Weasley beamed.

“I’ve come to ask a few favors of a few of you,” he said slowly, watching as everyone perked up and paid attention. “Arthur, I’d like to promote you to the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement department. It’ll mean a little more work, but I need people I can trust to help me rebuild the Ministry.”

Arthur Weasley nodded, and everyone in reach surrounded him with back pats and hugs before Shacklebolt continued.

“Charlie, I know you love your work with dragons, but I was wondering if an offer to head up the Department for Regulation of Magical Creatures would be enough to have you move back home permanently,” he asked with a smile. “And Percy, you’ve been at the Ministry for a long time, but it’s time you stopped being everyone’s assistant. Any job you want, it’s yours, except for mine of course,” he said, laughing loudly and shaking hands with Charlie and Percy as they agreed and accepted.

“Now, George, I know I won’t get you to leave your joke shop, but I know that you have quite a bit of items there that aren’t all about humor. I’d like to work out a contract between you and Ministry to provide the Aurors and support staffs with certain items that can help with self-defense and the search for any remaining Death Eaters.”

George smiled widely and nodded, reaching his hand out to shake Kingsley’s. “You have yourself a deal Minis-, I mean Kingsley.” When the minister brought his hand back, everyone had a giant laugh; George had somehow turned Kingsley’s whole palm a bright shade of neon green. Mrs. Weasley almost started in on him for the joke, but she was waved off by Kingsley.

“Lastly,” he started, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione in turn, “I would also like to offer the lot of you jobs at the MInistry, but I was told earlier today that you all are returning to Hogwarts this year.” He continued as each of them confirmed this.

“A wise choice, but my offer will still stand. Harry, Ron, I know that you both wanted to be Aurors, and if that is still the case next year, I will personally see to it that you are accepted. So much of our Auror force has been depleted in the last few years that having you boys there will help quite a bit, and seeing as you’ve had years of training and experience already, there would be no trouble accelerating you through the normal training process.”

“Now Hermione, I’ve heard of your brilliance, and especially your work at promoting S.P.E.W. When you’ve finished at Hogwarts, come talk to me and we can work on finding you a position in Magical Law, or even Creature or Muggle Relations.”

All three had a stunned look on their faces, but they turned to smiles as they looked at each other. These were the jobs they had been talking about for years, and being told that the jobs they wanted were theirs was extremely exciting.

The dinner party went on for a while longer, the conversation turning to a range of topics from plans for rebuilding Hogwarts, to how the England/Ireland Quidditch league was going to look this year.

Sometime in the middle of all that, Harry caught Ginny’s eye, and the two of them excused themselves and left the table, walking outside into the cool night’s air. 


	3. Alone at Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. All ideas for this continuation are my own.

**Chapter 3 - Alone at Last**

It was a cool evening as Harry and Ginny made their way down the back path from the Burrow’s back door. They walked close, side by side, but even with the short moment they had earlier in the day, the situation now felt awkward to Harry. He knew that they were about to have a long discussion, about what they were feeling and what they wanted, and he hoped that Ginny was feeling the way he was.

They stopped after a minute or so under a large oak tree near the swimming pond. Neither of them had said anything yet, but their choice of location came easily enough. They had talked here a lot the previous summer, before Harry had decided to leave on the hunt for the Horcruxes.

Harry sat down with his back to the large trunk, and Ginny did the same, her hand coming to rest on his leg. The smell of flowers wafted over to him as she laid her head on his shoulder. With a smile, he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

“I’ve missed you Ginny,” he said quietly as he looked down at her. “The whole past year, I… well let’s just say that I thought about you every day, every night. I wanted the whole thing to just be a nightmare that I could wake up from and just be with you.”

Ginny nodded on his shoulder, a small smile on her face. “Funny, that’s pretty much how I felt…” Lifting her head, she maneuvered around Harry’s legs so that when she was finished, she was sitting cross-legged between his, looking across at him and still holding his hands.

“Every day I woke up with this deep sense of dread in my stomach,” she continued, “hoping that I wouldn’t be hearing news that you’d been captured, or killed. A little piece of me died a few days ago, when Hagrid brought you and Voldemort said you were dead, Harry.”

There were tears in her eyes, and she looked close to breaking down and sobbing, but she continued. “Harry, I don’t want you to ever leave me again, and I don’t want to let you out of my sight until you promise m-me…” she sputtered out, and the tears started to flow.

Harry wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer. Ginny buried her face in his chest, letting herself have the long cry that she’d been keeping in over the last few days. He could feel a large spot of tears forming on his shirt, but that mattered not to him. Not really knowing what to say, he ran his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her. He let his chin rest on top of her head lightly, kissing the top of her head every so often, and taking in that sweet smell of flowers that he had come to love about her.

After a few minutes, Harry looked down and put his hand under her chin, lifting it up slowly. Ginny looked up at him with puffy eyes and tears on her cheeks. With a gentle smile on his face, he slowly wiped away her tears. It pained him to see her like this, but there was something beautiful about the way she looked when she cried. He knew then that he would do anything to make her happy, and to be there for her when things went wrong.

“I promise you Ginny,” he said softly, planting a kiss on her forehead, “I will never leave you again. Wherever I go, I’ll take you with me. Whatever I do, I'll make sure you’re right there beside me. You’ll know exactly where I am all the time,” he looked down at her with a gentle smile, as he held her close, “and I’ll be there every morning when you wake up.”

Ginny smiled weakly and sniffled, before she reached a hand up to the side of his face and leaned in to kiss him. It was a short kiss, a thank you sign, but as their lips parted and they looked into each other’s eyes, they both leaned in for another.

It was tender and thrilling at the same time; this kiss wasn’t driven by heavy hearts and sadness. Their noses flared every so often as they took breaths, both sets of eyes closed to enjoy everything. Harry felt her tongue pressing against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he gladly let her in, their tongues exploring hot and steamy mouths for what seemed like forever.

When they finally came up for air, Ginny laid her head back against his chest, one hand up on the other shoulder. “I’m going to hold you to that promise, Potter,” she said with a smile, and snuggled into him some more as they sat there in the night, letting the light breeze wash over them.

 

* * *

 

Inside, most of the Weasley’s had trudged off to bed, and Ron had just walked into his and Harry’s room and sat on the bed with a thump. His mind was running around in circles with all that had happened the last few days, and all the news he had received.

Head Boy, and possibly an Auror in the future. It was a lot to consider, but somehow his mind kept bringing him back to Fred. Even knowing what Fred would have said to jest with him about it all didn’t help, and he slowly sunk into a deep pool of gloominess. He closed his eyes and fell back, laying on his bed.

He didn’t even hear the small pop! a few moments later as Hermione apparated into his room. She looked at him laying there, and the tears she had started crying in her and Ginny’s bedroom continued to come. Hermione had hoped to come up here for Ron’s comfort, but it seemed like they would have to help each other.

“Ron, are you ok?” she asked softly.

Ron’s eyes opened quickly as he felt Hermione sit down on his bed and put her hand on his leg. Seeing who it was, he made room for her and tried to clear his face a bit, not wanting to cry in front of her. As he noticed her tears, he couldn’t help but to smile. She looked beautiful; her hair was straight and long, with a gentle wave or curve to it. Curves, she had those too he thought. After so many years of knowing her, he wondered how he had never seen how wonderful she was until the past year or so.

“Why are you smiling Ron?” she asked softly, knowing that he had to be in as much pain, or even more than she was.

“I’m smiling because we made it, and we’re here together. I’m smiling because even when you’re crying, you are beautiful, and I can’t help it.”

She sniffled a bit, her heart touched by his words. Without any words, she lifted his head a bit and shifted around so that his head was in her lap. Clearing her face a bit, she looked down at him with a small smile. “Do.. do you mean that?” she asked.

Ron nodded, taking her hand in his and playing with it, their fingers intertwined. They sat like that for a while, looking at each other and thinking. Hermione found herself playing with his hair idly. It had gotten fairly long in the last year or so. “I like your hair like this,” she said with a smile. “You look good.”

He looked up at her with a smile. “Oh yeah? And why should I listen to you on the matter?” he asked, in a teasing voice.

His answer came in the form of Hermione leaning down and kissing him. There had been a lot of kissing in the last few days for them, but this one was by far the most passionate. They could feel each other’s nose breaths on their cheeks, and after a bit they let go gently.

Their eyes connected, and he smiled. “Well, erm, that’s as good of a reason as any…”

Hermione grinned and nudged him playfully. “Cheeky bugger.”

Ron sat up and leaned against the wall, pulling her closer to him so that she was sitting between his legs, her back against him. He enjoyed this, the smell of her hair and their closeness. They sat there silently for a bit, enjoying each other until Ron spoke up.

“Hermione, I… ok this might not come out right, but…” he started, trailing off.

She took his hand, squeezing it. “What is it?”

“Well, I guess I just wanted to know what I am to you… I like you, a lot really, and I wanted to know if I should just be treating you like a friend, or something more?” he asked, quietly with a trace of timidity in his voice.

Hermione smiled to herself. “Ron, you will always be my friend,” she started, feeling his shoulder slump a tiny bit, “but yes, I do want this to be something more…”. She squeezed his hand again. “Can I call you my boyfriend, Ronald Weasley?”

Ron nodded and smiled, though she couldn’t see it. “Yes Hermione,” he said, kissing her neck, “you can.”

They kissed again, and again, for what seemed like hours. As they both started drifting off to sleep, Hermione removed her sweater and laid beside him in her pajamas, curling up next to him so they were face to face. Ron wrapped his free arm around her, and rubbed her back lightly until they both were asleep.

 

* * *

 

Morning broke out over the Burrow, and the sunlight woke Harry again this morning, peacefully though. He blinked a few times, then looked around. He could feel something in his lap and looked down to find Ginny laying there, asleep and with a smile on her face.

They had stayed up talking for a long time the night before. After coming back into the house from outside, and realizing everyone had went to bed, they got comfortable on the couch, not wanting be apart and still having a lot to say to each other. Somewhere along the way Ginny had laid down on the couch and he had been playing with her hair, and they both fell asleep that way.

The smell of bacon and french toast wafted into the living room, and Harry realized that Mrs. Weasley was up, and had probably seen them. He noticed a blanket over the two of them as well, and was puzzled until she walked into the room.

She must have seen the panicked look on his face, because her face melted into a very warm smile. “I came down in the middle of the night and found you two there,” she said with a whisper. “It’s perfectly fine dear, I know nothing happened. You two belong together anyway,” she said, putting a hand to her heart as she looked at Ginny sleeping peacefully. “Breakfast will be ready soon, if you want,” she said, nodding at Harry before going back into the kitchen.

Harry smiled and leaned his head back on the couch. It felt good to have Mrs. Weasley’s approval, he did love Ginny like nothing else but also didn’t want it to cause an issue with her family.

Ginny shifted in her sleep, and Harry realized quickly that she was about to fall onto the floor. He quickly grabbed her hip and pulled her back, but the motion woke her up. As he finished pulling her back onto her back, she smiled up at him with a sleepy face and yawned a bit. “Good morning,” she said softly. The way she said it brought a wave of love and warmth through Harry, and he knew that he wanted to wake up like this for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, Ginny realized how they had slept, and where. She sat up straight and panicked. “Oh god,” she said, looking all around. “Mum saw us, didn’t she…”.  

Harry couldn't help but chuckle, and Ginny looked at him with a stare and poked his cheek. “Why aren’t you a toad? Mum said she’d turn anyone who tried to take advantage of me into a toad, and I’d be locked up in my room for ages…”

She was rambling, and Harry just put a finger to her lips. “Gin, it’s all right…” he said, motioning towards the kitchen. “Your mum said so… and where do you think the blanket came from overnight?” He smirked and kissed her on the cheek. “Although, if you want me to be a toad, I guess…”

Ginny looked around again, blushing and then grabbing a throw pillow to hit him with. She had this wild look in her eyes, a cross between amusement and wonder at her mother’s actions.

Harry saw it and smiled, loving the passion inside her. He got up and offered his hand to her. “Come on, breakfast?” he asked.

She smiled and hit him with the pillow one more time, aiming for his rear, before taking his hand and standing up. Harry pulled her into himself, and leaned in for a kiss. It wasn’t a very long one, but not short either, and when it was over, Ginny smiled up at him. “Well Potter, you’ve kept your promise so far…” she said, and with that she grabbed his hand and walked into the kitchen with him.


	4. Two Kinds of Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR.

** Chapter 4 - Two Kinds of Grief **

“Ron, wake up! Breakfast is getting cold already!”

Ron grumbled at the sound of his mother knocking on his door. He had been hoping to sleep in today, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for him. “Allright… allright…” he mumbled at the door, groaning as he contemplated opening his eyes for the first time that day.

He shifted his weight around, feeling something soft next to him. This caused him to wake up quite suddenly, realizing that the something soft was Hermione. Turning his head a bit, he saw her laying there next to him, awake and smiling.

Hermione couldn’t help but giggle at the look on his face. “Good morning Ron,” she said with a grin still on her face.

Ron looked at her a bit sheepishly for the way he had gotten startled. “Good morning ‘Mione…” he said, rubbing his face with a palm. “Did Mum wake you too?”

She grinned propping herself up on an elbow and shaking her head. “No, I’ve been up for a bit. I was, umm, “ she stopped and blushed a little, “watching you sleep and kind of daydreaming.”

Ron stared at her, his mouth slightly opened as if he were surprised, but then he smiled, leaned over and brought her into a kiss. It was short and sweet, and they were both smiling at the end of it. “That’s sweet, but what you see in me, I have no clue. So, I’m just gonna keep doing what I'm doing, and consider myself lucky.”

Hermione grinned and pushed him back playfully into his pillow. “Ronald Weasley, sometimes you…” she trailed off with a look of mirth on her face, shaking her head. Leaning in over him, she planted another kiss on his lips, then sat up straight.

“I should probably Apparate down to Ginny’s room and come downstairs from there,” she said, getting out of bed and standing up. “There’d be too many questions…”

Ron nodded, stretching his arms up. “Yeah, and as much as I wouldn’t care about them from everyone, it’s Mum we should be worried about,” he said with a playfully ominous tone in his voice.

Hermione grinned and nodded, then turned on the spot and vanished into thin air with the quietest of pops.

 

* * *

 

Downstairs, Ginny and Harry had nearly finished with their breakfast and were discussing what they wanted to do that day. Nearly everyone else in the family had trickled down from their bedrooms to grab something to eat before heading off to work. Mr. Weasley, Charlie, and Percy all looked rather excited, mentioning a meeting they were each going to have with Minister Shacklebolt that day.

George looked equally as excited to get back to work at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. The store had been shut down for most of the last year, and he was itching to clean up the place and restock so it could open soon. Mrs. Weasley looked at him for a bit while he talked, worry plainly evident on her face. Ginny caught her eye, and nodded lightly.

Seeing Harry’s puzzlement, Ginny leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Mum’s been worried about George; with Fred gone and everything. I think it’s a good idea for him to get back to work, it’ll make him happier than just sitting around here all day long.”

Harry nodded, knowing that it was going to be tough for everyone for a while. Bill and Fleur came downstairs after a bit as well, making plans to get all of their things cleaned up and packed. Mrs. Weasley frowned a bit at this news as well. It was obvious that she wanted to be able to keep an eye on her whole family after the events of the last year, but she seemed resigned to the fact that everyone needed to live their own lives. Her mood seemed to improve greatly when the couple that they were going to look for a new home closer to work and the Burrow than all the way out at Shell Cottage.

Finally, Hermione and Ron joined them at the table after everyone else had left. Both of them had smiles on as they sat next to each other and Ginny looked pointedly at Hermione as she raised an eyebrow. Hermione just kept on smiling over at her, with a look that meant they’d talk later.

From the fireplace in the next room, they could all hear a Whoosh!. Mrs. Weasley set down the pan she had been magically scrubbing and went to go see who it was. Harry, who was sitting at the end of the table, could just barely see into the room. It seemed as if Mrs. Weasley was talking to the fireplace, but he knew that she was getting a message from somebody through the Floo Network.

They could all hear the booming voice they knew to be Kingsley’s, but none of them could make out what was being said. The conversation was over quickly, and before they heard the emerald green flames die out, Mrs. Weasley was back in the kitchen. There was an amused look on her face as she stood near the table, looking at the 4 of them sitting there.

“What is it Mum?” Ron asked, before stuffing a piece of bacon into his mouth. The others were all curious as well, and looked at Mrs. Weasley expectantly.

She smiled, still somewhat amused. “Well, it seems that the lot of you have some letters arriving today. Quite a lot of letters actually,” she said, trailing off. Seeing the quizzical looks from them, she continued. “Kingsley wanted to tell us personally that Hogwarts and the Ministry were going to be sending over all the mail you lot have been accumulating over the past few days. He said there’s a couple hundred letters and packages so far from admirers, fans, letter of thanks, all sorts. He also said not to worry about any tampering, the Ministry’s already gone through everything and that no letter hexes, solutions, or anything else like that should have gotten through.”

As she finished speaking, they could all hear a loud Pop! in the living room. Everyone headed in there, to find nearly a dozen large cloth bags on the floor, bursting at the seams with letters and packages.

“Wow,” and “Oh…” were about the only things that anyone could say for a full minute as they tried to comprehend the amount of letters and parchment scrolls in front of them. Even Mrs. Weasley, who usually had something to say, was silent.

As the quartet sat down on various armchairs and couches, they started peering into all the bags. Hermione was looking around all of them, a concentrated look on her face. “Guys, there’s easily a thousand letters here…” she said, a look of wonder on her face.

“This is incredible,” Ron said, reaching for a letter with his name on it and ripping the envelope open to read it. He started laughing almost immediately. “Mrs. Gertrude Barnswallow of Tinworth congratulating me on my role in defeating You-Know-Who, and inviting me to dinner some night so she can hear what happened first-hand.”

Everyone started laughing with him, and pretty soon all of them were searching through bags for ones addressed to them. Mrs. Weasley had a thoughtful look on her face, and after asking them all to hold on for a second, she jabbed her wand at the large sacks. Letters and parchment rolls flew around the ceiling for a few seconds, and then all dropped into neat piles near each of them.

Harry’s pile was, of course, bigger than anyone else’s, but Hermione and Ron still had about a hundred letters each, and Ginny’s pile was nothing to laugh at. There was a separate stack of letters off to the side for the rest of the Weasley family, and these Mrs. Weasley picked up and and carried into the kitchen, leaving the four friends to pick through their mail.

They all smiled at the thank you letters, reading some bits out loud, though the sound of rustling paper was the most prevalent. Each of them received requests for endorsements of wizarding products, and plenty of requests for interviews and rights to biographies. All four received a letter from Rita Skeeter as well, asking, politely for a change, for them to contact her about an “opportunity to make mountains of Galleons.”

“Good grief,” Hermione said with a smirk on her face. “As if we’d ever partner with that woman on anything.”

Harry blushed after reading one of the notes, and Ginny snatched the letter out of his hand before he could stop her. With a short laugh, she brought the tip of her wand to the paper and set it on fire, watching it burn up instantly in a small puff of smoke. She looked at Hermione and Ron, who were looking puzzled back at her. Shrugging, she explained her action. “No one gets to propose to Harry…”

They all laughed, and soon Hermione and Ginny were going through Ron and Harry’s mail and giggling together, looking for proposals, pictures and requests for dates. Every one of those went up in flames. Harry and Ron could only grin and look at each other, not wanting to say anything that would set the two of them off.

There were some snide messages as well. Harry read one out to them all which had them snorting and giggling into their hands by the last sentence. “And now that You-Know-Who is gone for good, I hope you will retire quietly and refrain from making a scene wherever you go.”

He rolled his eyes as he set the letter aside, watching his best friends grinning. “What are you lot going on about?”

Ginny, who was sitting down on the other end of the same couch, smiled impishly as she poked Harry’s leg with her toes. “What do you say Harry, want to go make a scene in Diagon Alley later on?”

Harry chuckled, “What kind of scene did you have in mind Gin?” he asked teasingly, shifting on the couch so he was closer to her.

Ginny moved closer to him as well, whispering something into his ear that made him blush a bright red. That earned her a kiss, a short and sweet, but chaste one. Ron also got red in the face, but not for the same reason.

“Oi! I get you two are like, back together and everything, but not in public!” he said with a half-scowl on his face.

“Ron!” Hermione exclaimed, getting up and hitting him with a large rolled up piece of parchment. “Let them be. Besides, it gives us license to do the same,” she said, leaning down to him and kissing him as well.

The blush on his face only got deeper, which made them all laugh. It was a good feeling, Harry thought, to be able to sit around and relax with the people that meant the most to him, and not having to worry about the next bit of danger coming their way.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed along without anything else exciting or new happening, which suited the four friends pretty well. It was a relaxing day, mostly spent outside in the crisp spring air. Between taking an afternoon swim in the pond, and chasing each other around on brooms most of the afternoon, they were all pretty tired by the end of of the night, and turned in one by one.

As she watched Hermione and Ron walk up the stairs, Ginny realized that they would want to have some time alone again. When she heard the door upstairs close, she leaned over towards Harry, who was sitting next to her, and kissed him on the cheek. “Come upstairs when you’re ready,” she said quietly, with a small smile.

He nodded. “I’ll be there in a bit,” he said, looking into the fireplace where there wasn’t any fire going.

Ginny stood and placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment before walking up the stairs, stopping for a moment to look back at him. She had noticed that he had gotten into a quiet mood after dinner. He had a lot of things to mull over, she decided, and kept going into her room, knowing that he would join her when he was ready.

Harry stared into the fireplace for a while, the events of the last couple of days and longer playing in his head. The evening crickets had long stopped their chorus of noise when he looked around the room, and realized that it was well past midnight. He sighed, and walked into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea before heading upstairs.

Just as he had poured some hot water over the tea leaves, he heard feet on the stairs. “I’m sorry, I lost track of time Gi...” he said, looking up and stopping when he saw that it was Mrs. Weasley, dressed in a long housecoat over her sleepwear.

She smiled back at him. “You alright Harry?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, I think I am. I was just doing a lot of thinking is all,” he said, trying not make it seem all that important.

Mrs. Weasley nodded slowly and took a seat at the table, looking back at him. “Why don’t you bring another cup and that pot over dear, I want to talk with you…” she said quietly.

Wondering what this was all about, Harry did as she asked and poured a hot cup of tea for her, setting it in front of her before getting his own and sitting next to her, where she was patting her hand on the bench.

There were a few moments of awkward silence before she spoke. “Harry, I’m worried about you,” she said, looking up at him.

Harry was surprised at this. “Ermm, why’s that Mrs. Weasley? I mean, for the first time in a year, well my whole life actually, I don’t have anyone trying to kill me. I’m going back to Hogwarts, I’ll play Quidditch, think about what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. And, well,” he said, blushing a little, “Ginny and I are back together, so everything’s good, really.”

“Those are all external, Harry,” she said, lifting her hand and moving it towards him. She continued, “What I’m worried about is what’s going on in here, and here,” placing her hand on the top of his head, then over his heart.

Harry just stared at her quietly for a moment, then looked off through the window for a bit.

Mrs. Weasley sighed quietly. “Harry, please look at me.”

He did, and found her looking directly into his eyes. “Harry, you’ve been through so much in your life, much more than people ever have to go through, and you’re only seventeen. Even before you learned about what happened to your parents, you certainly didn’t have a normal and safe childhood. You’ve lost so much, witnessed many horrible things, had to do so many dreadful things. Most people wouldn't be able to deal with it all.”

“Facing Voldemort at eleven, accused of being Slytherin’s Heir, accused of cheating your way into the Triwizard Tournament, of lying about Voldemort coming back, laughed at in the papers, losing your godfather and Dumbledore. But Harry, even though each time you came out on top, you stay quiet, composed, sometimes without any emotion.”

“Harry I’ve known you since you started at Hogwarts, and I’ve seen you every summer since. I’ve been watching you, and not just here. I've always asked my children about you, in every letter, whenever we speak.”

Harry’s face showed a little betrayal as she said this, his mind racing through wild thoughts about all his friends blabbering about him.

Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly. “It’s not what you think Harry. I was always asking how you were, were you eating enough, sleeping enough, what you were worried about, things like that. Ron never told me a thing, and Ginny, well Ginny has always been protective of you Harry. I remember one time I had been asking Ginny all sorts of questions and she finally had enough, and she said ‘Mum, lay off of Harry, ok? I’m keeping an eye on him.’”

She let this soak in for a moment, watching Harry closely. “Harry, what I’m trying to say is this. You can’t keep everything inside of you, it’s just not good at all. I know you feel guilty about the Battle, asking people to fight while you tried to stop him, but really that’s all hogwash. You are a victim to everything that’s happened, not the cause of it. Grief is okay Harry, most everyone is grieving right now, but it’s the guilt that you need to toss aside. Don’t let it consume you Harry, please…”

His eyes stayed with her’s for what seemed like ages, and then they started to well up with tears and let loose at the same time. He shut his eyes and the sobbing started. Harry could feel Mrs. Weasley pulling his head down on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. As she did that, he could feel the walls that he had put up in his mind breaking apart, and he allowed them to fall apart. Everything that he had kept bottled up; his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, all his worries about Hermione and the Weasley’s, it all fell away.

Mrs. Weasley didn't say a thing, letting her embrace and the love it represented do all the ‘talking’. It took a few minutes for the tears to dry up and the shaking to stop. He finally lifted his head and the hug was broken, and he looked at her. His face was all red and splotchy with stains of tears, but he had a small, genuine smile.

“There we go,” she said quietly, with a smile of her own. “That’s the smile I was looking for, not the one you used when you were trying to convince everyone you were alright. It suits you Harry, you should use it more often.”

He sniffled once, and nodded. “I will. It’ll be a lot easier now that I have a true family.”

It was Molly’s turn to tear up a bit, but the smile on her face stopped it from being anything more than just a few tears. She grabbed a napkin off the table and dabbed at her eyes a bit, then looked back at him. “Thank you Harry, you don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say that.”

She placed her hands around her cooling cup of tea and looked down for a bit before looking back to him. “You know Harry, I meant what I said this morning. You and Ginny are meant for each other, and I’m not saying that just as a mother about her daughter. You’ve saved her life a few times, and been so protective and worried about her, and she’s done the same for you. She’s had a place in her heart for you ever since she saw you that first time you went to Hogwarts. It’s meant to be, I believe.”

Harry blushed a little. “Now now,” Mrs. Weasley said, smiling at that. “You know what I mean, and you know it to be true, so let’s not get any more sappy here. Arthur and I are over the moon about you two, and we couldn’t be happier about it.”

She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Now if I’m not mistaken, I think Ginny’s up in her room waiting for you, unless she’s fallen asleep.” He blushed again, trying to find a way to tell her otherwise.

Mrs. Weasley grinned. “Don’t think I haven’t realized that the sleeping arrangements in this house have changed a little. I’m perfectly alright with that, really, as long as I don’t hear anything about it,” she said pointedly, her eyes catching his. Harry caught her meaning and nodded.

“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley,” he said as he stood up to walk upstairs.

“Harry, you should really just call me Mum,” she said with a warm smile. “You are part of this family, no matter what’s going on between you and Ginny.”

Harry smiled and nodded, feeling very much a part of the family with that statement. “Thank you… Mum.” With that, he turned and started to climb the stairs.

“Oh Harry,” he heard a moment later, and he turned around to look back at Mrs. Weasley.

“Yeah?”

“Even though you’re family,” she said sipping at his cup of tea, “if I find out you’ve crossed Ginny, I will have to turn you into a toad.” The way she said it and the smile on her face told Harry that she was mostly joking, trying to put him in a good mood before he fell asleep, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she really meant it.

He grinned, and nodded. “Right.”

A minute later, he was in Ginny’s room, quietly closing the door behind him. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dark, and saw that Ginny was in bed, asleep by the looks of things. He smiled, and with a wave of his wand changed his clothes to pajamas, and crawled into bed next to her. Noticing that she didn’t wake, he smiled and put his arm around her, bringing himself all the way to her back. He laid there against her for a moment, taking in the smell of her hair before kissing the back of her head and whispering, “Good night, Ginny,” and drifting off himself.

 


	5. Fortunes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. I’m only providing the storyline after the 7th book.

Other than a few incidents with over-zealous reporters wanting to talk to Harry, Hermione, Ron and some other Weasley family members, the next few weeks at the Burrow were as relaxing as Harry could ever remember. After taking care of chores each day as assigned by Mrs. Weasley, the three of them spent their time lounging about outside by day and in the living room or their own rooms by night. Ron was spending a good amount of time each day helping George out at the store, which was scheduled to re-open in a few week’s time.

Harry had never been at the Burrow in late spring before, and enjoyed the cooler weather here much better than the heat of summer that he was used to. He was also enjoying all the time he and Ginny had to spend together. The two were inseparable from morning until night, and more often than not they slept together in Ginny’s room, after Mrs. Weasley had told Harry that she knew of all the room switching.

Ginny and Hermione had blushed furiously when Harry mentioned it and Ron had a strange look about his face. Although, his was probably the result of the thought of his mother knowing and the thought of his little sister and Harry sharing a bed as well.

One morning, after everyone had left, Hermione, Ginny and Harry agreed that while there was quite a bit to do around the Burrow, cabin fever was starting to set in.

“How about we go visit Diagon Alley?” Ginny thought out loud. “Dad said that it was starting to get back to normal over there and we can see if George and Ron are messing around, instead of actually working like they say they are.”

They all had a laugh at that, Hermione especially. “If Ron’s hiding away there every day so he doesn’t have to spend time with me, I’d have to hex him…” she said in a matter-of-fact tone, but the grin on her face betrayed her speech. “Besides, if stores are opening back up, we could start getting everything we need for school.”

She saw the look on their faces and grinned. “Trust me, it’s not like I’d rather be back at Hogwarts right now, but wouldn’t it be better to get some stuff out of the way now before the rest of the school gets their letters and make a mad rush to shop?”

Harry agreed with her. “I see your point. I should stop at Gringott’s too, they keep sending me owls. Even though we don’t know all the books we’ll need, you and I do need to replace a lot of things that we lost or left behind in places while we off hunting Horcru…”

He stopped mid-word at Ginny’s expression. “Everything ok Gin?” he asked, concerned.  
She nodded a bit.

“Yes, Im sorry. I just don’t like thinking about that word is all,” she said quietly, and both of her friends understood why. Harry had told the girls and Ron about everything that had happened, including his decision to allow himself to be ‘killed’ by Voldemort so that the final Horcrux attached to his soul could be broken. He hadn’t mentioned that part of the story to anyone, not even Mrs. Weasley or Professor McGonagall, until a few nights ago while they were all sitting around a small campfire they had made.

Hermione and Ron had taken it as well as he thought they would, but Ginny had burst into tears. It had taken the three of them quite a bit of time to calm her down and for the rest of the night she held onto Harry’s arm as if he would disappear on her.

Harry nodded and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, I’ll try not to bring it up again.”

Ginny shook her head. “No, it’s ok, really. I just have to get used to the fact that you are the Boy Who Lived, Twice.” Her smile was wide with that but Harry could tell that she was still mulling over things in her mind.

 

* * *

 

 

A few minutes later, with wands in their pockets, the three of them stepped out of the fireplace at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes one by one. They didn’t see anyone at first, but heard noises from the nearby back room. Hermione poked her head past the curtain, and grinned at the sight of Ron halfway up a small ladder, using his wand to float a rather large box of spare parts down to the ground.

When he saw her there he lost his train of thought for a moment and the box of parts came crashing down the last two or three feet to the ground. The sound brought the others looking and they had a laugh while helping Ron pick everything up.

“What’s all this?” George asked, poking his head back and scowling. He looked at the sight before him and laughed. “Well Ron, if I had wanted help trashing the place again I could’ve asked the Death Eater’s to come back…”

Ron flushed, but before he could say anything Harry spoke up, grinning. “Sorry George, we were just going to do a bit of shopping and used your fireplace to travel.”

George waved him off. “Fine by me, just don’t leave any soot on the carpets; I had a professional cleaning witch in here yesterday and she billed me an amount that’s gonna take a while to recover from.” He looked pained as he said it, though they could tell he was in good spirits.

 

* * *

 

 

As Harry, Ginny and Hermione stepped out of the store and looked around, they were pleased to see that the Alley was slowly returning to it’s former glory. It seemed as if all the major stores were already re-opened and that most of the others had signs out saying they’d be back soon enough. They walked down the street a little, chatting happily. Harry had hoped to see Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor open but it was still shuttered tightly.

Hermione mentioned something about getting some books to read and headed off to Flourish and Blotts, leaving Ginny and Harry to wander for a bit.

“Hey Harry,” Ginny said as they walked along, “didn’t you say you needed to stop at Gringotts?”

Harry nodded, his lips pressed together. “I do, they keep sending me letters saying that I need to stop in to talk about my account, but I’m worried about, well, you know…”

Ginny understood what he meant almost instantly. “Oh, when you guys broke in,” she said quietly. “Well, honestly Harry I think it’ll be ok. From what Mum and Dad say about the Gringott’s goblins, they don’t tend to hold grudges really. For them, it’s all about contracts and such. Besides, you only stole the cup right? I’m sure they’ll understand why you did it.”

He nodded again, still anxious about it. “Alright, let’s go then.”

Once inside the bank, Harry looked around and was amazed; the whole place looked just as it did before they had ripped through the lobby on the back of that half-blind dragon. He noticed a few of the goblin tellers and accountants looking down at him from their desks as they made their way to the reception desk, some of them scowling.

Since there were no alarms going off, or guards rushing at him, Harry breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the Goblin behind the desk when it came to his turn. “Ah, Hello. Ermm, I’m Harry Potter and I need to make a withdrawal from my vault and I was sent a few letters saying that there was a matter that needed to be discussed?”

The goblin sitting there appraised Harry with a long stare, before nodding. “Yes Mr. Potter, it is good to see you. We do indeed have a few things that need to be handled. Very well, I can arrange a trip down to your vault momentarily and then we will have you speak with an estate banker.”

Estate banker, Harry thought over in his head, wondering what was going on. He looked over at Ginny, who was equally as confused and shrugged. The goblin was being just a little too courteous for Harry’s liking, he had been expecting some sort of demand to repay the bank for the damages.

As they headed down the corridor to the cart system, they heard a voice behind them. Ginny smiled as she looked behind her. “Hi Bill,” she said and Harry was relieved immediately. He had forgotten Bill and Fleur worked here.

“Hi guys. Whatcha’ here for?” Bill asked, as a Gringott’s goblin walked towards them and summoned a cart.

“Mr. Potter wishes to withdraw from his vault, Mr. Weasley,” the goblin said with a wheezy voice.

Bill looked from the goblin and then to Harry. He must have seen some sort of worry on Harry’s face because he started for the cart with a smile. “I’ll join you lot then. I’m on my break anyway and I haven't had a good ride down to the vaults in a while, Brodock.”

Brodock looked at Bill and scowled. “Very well sir, though it will be a tight squeeze for us all.”

Ginny giggled as she stepped into the cart, holding her hand out to Harry. “That’s alright, I can sit on Harry’s lap.”

Harry blushed as he saw Bill’s grin, and wrapped his arms around Ginny’s middle as the cart made it’s way down the track. None of them tried to say anything on their way down the caves and tunnels, they wouldn’t have been able to with how loud the cart was scratching on the track.

They stopped in front of Harry’s vault and piled out as Brodock held his hand out for Harry’s key. As he opened the vault, Harry wished for a moment that Bill and Ginny weren’t here to see it. He knew the topic of money was a touchy one with the family. He quickly walked into the vault and looked around, seeing that nothing seemed to have been touched.

After a minute or so Harry reckoned he had wedged a good supply of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts into his money bag and stepped out to where the rest of them were. His eyes didn't meet theirs as they clambered back aboard the cart for the ride back to the surface. Noticing this, Ginny looked back at Harry as the cart started to move and gave him a smile. Harry smiled himself, knowing that she knew what he was feeling.

 

* * *

 

 

As they were leaving the cart room, a witch wearing the same colored robes as Bill walked over to the group and introduced herself. “Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, it’s good to meet you. I’m Larissa McEndry, one of the estate bankers here. She smiled at Bill to acknowledge him and he nodded back. “If you would follow me please, we can talk in Estate Records Room.”

Harry followed the witch and when he realized that Ginny nor Bill were following, he looked back.

“Ah, perhaps it’s best it just be you Harry,” Bill said with a hand on Ginny’s shoulder. “These are private things.”

Harry shook his head. “No, it’s alright. I tell Ginny everything and you work here. You might be able to help me out with things I don’t know.” He smiled at the both of them and they followed, Ginny slipping her hand into his as they entered the right room.

The two younger ones couldn’t help but to look around the room like children at a sweets shop. The room reminded Harry of his amazement the first time he had stepped into the Great Hall at Hogwarts. The room here was just as big and was covered wall to wall with filing cabinets that were opening, closing, and resizing themselves as files flew magically between them, going in and out of slits in the stone wall to other offices.

The banker witch took a seat at one of the many desks and motioned for the others to sit across from her with a smile. “Well then Mr. Potter, firstly I have to thank you for what you’ve done, in regards to ridding us of You-Know-Who.” Her warm smile eased Harry’s mind.

“Even though you were part of one of the only two break-in’s in the bank’s history, I have been asked to tell you by our Head Banker that no charges will be filed, or fees assessed against you.” She looked at Bill with a smirk and Bill smiled serenely back at her. Harry watched the two of them and decided that Bill had definitely had something to do with what he had just been told.

“Now, on to the matter at hand. I apologize Mr. Potter, our records the last few years have been slipping, especially with all that has happened. The letters you've been receiving should have been sent right after your 17th birthday, when you rightfully inherited several vaults and estates here.”

Harry looked at her, surprised. “Umm, several?”

The blank stare on his face brought a smirk to the banker’s face. “Yes, Mr. Potter. As you know, your parents left you your vault, in the event of their demise. This vault however, did not contain all of your parent’s worth. Since you are now of age, you are now the the owner of the Potter Family Vault, number 486.”

Larissa raised her wand and pointed it at a filing cabinet and caught the file folder that flew at her. She opened the file and began to review it. “The Potter Family account currently contains almost three times the amount in your personal account, along with various artifacts, family heirlooms and possessions they brought here for safe keeping in the months before their passing. All the stored possessions have been appraised in recent years and have been valued at almost one hundred and fifty thousand galleons.”

“In addition, the estate also contains your parent’s homes and properties. There is of course Potter Manor and the house in Godric’s Hollow. Your father’s parents also left to him a house outside of London and a flat within London proper, not far from the Ministry actually. There are also a few tracts of land around the country that are now yours, none of which have been used or built upon. Outside of Great Britain there are three properties, a beach house in the south of France, a cabin in Canada and a condominium on Grand Cayman Island.”

Harry looked at the banker, with what had to be a stunned look on his face. He had never known much about his parents or his father’s family. Looking over at Ginny, he saw a look of shock on her face that had to have matched his own. The edges of her mouth were curled upward in a sort of smile as she looked over at Harry, obviously very happy for him. Bill was trying to not to meet his eyes and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that Bill had known about this for a while.

“Now then, Mr. Potter, if you will just sign here, acknowledging receipt of the estate,” she said sliding a form over to him. Harry recovered enough to sign where he needed to. As he finished his signature a tray appeared on the desk in front of him. Seven sets of keys were laid on the tray with a tag attached to each.

Harry didn’t get much of a chance to look at these as Larissa opened another file and looked through it. “This next inheritance is from the Snape estate.”

Ginny spoke up, seeing the look on Harry’s face. “Snape left something to Harry in his will?”

The other witch nodded. “Indeed. The Snape estate is not very large, and as he was the last of his line, the professor drafted his will to award most of his savings and properties to Hogwarts. However, he did leave to Mr. Potter a sum of three thousand Galleons and this letter.”

Harry took the letter and held it for a moment, thinking about what had to be in it’s contents. He laid it next to the tray to read later and signed the form that had been placed in front of him.

“Very good,” the witch said as she brought forth one more file folder, this one looking very heavy with a good amount of parchment stuck inside of it. They could all see the anticipation on the witch’s face as she opened the folder.

“Harry, this estate is the Black family estate. As you know, your godfather Sirius was the last of his name,” she said looking over to Harry who just nodded. “You were already informed that he had left Number 12 Grimmauld Place and his personal savings to you in his will. However, not until very recently, when we were able to research fully and procure proper documentation, were we able to total the full amount of the Black estate.”

The witch looked as if she was very excited as she went through the file. “I’m sure you know Harry, that the Black family was very proud of it’s pure-blood heritage for many centuries. Because of this, the Black family has been linked by marriage to over 5 dozen wizarding families over the years. As families died out, and most recently as members were found guilty of charges and sent to Azkaban, the Black Family vault steadily grew. The Lestrange family inheritance is the most recent to be added. Therefore, the Black Family Vault, one of the oldest and most secure here at Gringott’s, now has a total net worth of over ten million galleons, including stored artifacts, possessions and proceeds from sales of properties.”

She produced the proper form and slid it in front of Harry, who felt like he was about to pass out from the information. He heard both Ginny and Bill gasp at the revelation. “I didn’t realize….” Bill said quietly with a pale look on his face, one that said he wished he didn’t know that information. Ginny was looking at Harry intently, knowing that he was flabbergasted.

With a stoic face, Harry signed the papers and as he put his hands back into his lap, he felt Ginny wriggle her hand into one of his, squeezing it. He squeezed it back silently thanking her.

The banker witch smiled and waved her wand, sending the files back to their homes. “I know it’s a bit of a shock Mr. Potter, but it all truly does belong to you. Now, is there anything I can do for you? Any particular instructions as to your accounts?”

Harry slowly found his voice. “Ermm, yes. First, could you please empty the Black vault of it’s money and place it in a new account? I’d like to keep all their heirlooms where they are, for now. Please add the money from Professor Snape into my Family’s Vault. As for my personal vault that I’ve been using, I’d like to turn it and all it’s contents over to my godson, Teddy Lupin,” he said, a small lump rising in his throat.

Ginny smiled at that before giving Harry a hug. He looked at her with a smile of his own. “There’s more than enough in there right now for his grandmother to raise him on, plus paying for everything he needs for Hogwarts when he’s old enough. Could you please make sure that Andromeda Tonks is made aware and given full access to the vault?” He directed that last bit towards Larissa, who nodded and looked up from the notes she had been taking.

“Very good Mr. Potter. We can take care of that all.”

“Ermm, for the money that was in the Black vault, I’ll have to get back to you. I don’t want it added to my family’s vault, but perhaps we can use it in other ways. I’ll have to think about it, but I’ll be giving a good chunk of that money away to charities. I can send you an owl in a few days?”

“Of course, Harry,” Ms. McEndry said, her head bobbing up and down. “anything we can do for you, we’re at your service.”

 

* * *

 

 

They said goodbye to Bill and walked out of the large building, taking in the fresh air after being inside or underground for almost an hour. Harry looked around for a moment, then headed straight for an unused bench on the sidewalk, and took a seat on it. He closed his eyes and breathed out deeply.

Ginny sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around him, leaning her head on his shoulder and not saying anything. She knew Harry well enough to know when he needed to stew over something in his head by himself. He would eventually talk to her about it and she didn’t want to push such a big topic on him.

After a few minutes, Harry opened his eyes and gave her a small smile. She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.

Harry shrugged. “Talk about what, that I probably just became the richest wizard in Britain? I’m sure the Prophet’s going to have a field day with that.” He looked around, lost in thought for a moment before looking back at her. “It just bothers me Gin, the way that I got most of that money. People had to die for it to happen. I know that’s normally how inheritance works, but knowing the Black Family’s legacy, I can’t help but wonder how they obtained some of it. It just feels dirty to me.”

He sighed, placing his head on Ginny’s shoulder. “It feels weird too, knowing I have this much money and really, how am I supposed spend all of it? When I was with the Dursley’s I never had anything really and didn’t expect to ever have this much. I mean, I’m going to have a job sometime next year too Gin’, and that’s just gonna add to the mountain of gold under us right now.”

Ginny picked up his head and held it in her hands, a gentle smile on her face. “So what?” she asked. “Just because you have all this money doesn’t mean you have to spend it. You can work and live off the money you make. You’re gonna give a lot of it away and that’s amazing too. Harry, if anyone deserves what you got today, it’s you. Keep it, live your life and give it to your children.”

She kissed him on the nose, then pulled him into a tight hug and kiss. As they broke apart, Harry smiled, feeling a lot better and wondering just how in Merlin’s name he had found someone he loved so much. He wanted to correct her there, telling her that the money was going to be for their children but he didn’t want the conversation to turn awkward. He knew that’s what he definitely wanted, to spend the rest of his life with her, he just didn’t know how to say it just yet without stuffing it up. He had gained two fortunes today, he knew.

“Thanks Ginny,” he said, breathing out deeply.

She grabbed his hand and stood, pulling him up with her. “Don’t mention it Harry. Now come on, let’s go find Hermione. She’s either wondering where we’ve been or has her head stuck in a book.”

Harry grinned. “Probably the book, knowing her.”

As they walked back down the street, Ginny looked into the shops around her. “Harry, I hope you know, my feelings for you haven’t changed after what just happened. You’re still my Harry, my hero,” she said looking up at him. “You don’t have to go buying me all sorts of expensive presents or anything, though I wouldn’t say no…”

She let loose a loud shriek as Harry grabbed her sides and tickled her in response, before pulling her back to him, wrapping an arm around her side. He could tell by the look on her face that she was kidding and trying to lighten the mood. He leaned over and drew her in for a kiss right there in the middle of the street.

They stood there, pressed up against each other, kissing like fools, until the pains in their chests told them they needed to breathe. As they broke apart, there were smiles on both their faces.

“I love you Ginny,” Harry said, looking into her eyes as they held each other’s hands.

“And I love you, Harry.”


	6. Just You and Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. I’m only providing the storyline after the 7th book.

** Chapter 6 - Just You and Me **

Spring quickly made way for summer at the Burrow  and towards the middle of June, Harry had just about had enough of the constant badgering he was getting from reporters. Not only was he receiving a few owls a day with requests for interviews, the crowd of reporters and enthusiasts that gathered around the boundaries of the Burrow were taking all the measures they could to get in contact with anyone in the family.

One afternoon as they were walking into the kitchen for lunch, Harry sighed and looked at his three closest friends. "I know I said I didn't want to do any interviews about what happened, but I don't think we're gonna get those people out there off our backs until I do."

Ron nodded. "I hear you mate. That bloke who tried to fly his way past the charms around the house today was a complete nutter."

The girls nodded their agreement. "What were you thinking of, Harry?" Ginny asked as she sat down next to him on the bench, pressed in close to him as was the usual for them now.

He sighed again. "Honestly? I dunno. I don't want it to be this giant event with loads of people shouting questions." Thinking over his options, he started in on the sandwich he had pulled off the platter in front of them. Ginny, Ron and Hermione all recognized the look of concentration on his face, they had all seen it many times before.

Ron turned the topic around to some of the new gimmicks and products that he and George were working on at the shop. Now that the store was reopened and George had found some employees to keep the store running during the day, he spent most of his time in the back rooms working on new ideas.

As Harry finished his sandwich, he looked up and out the window as an idea came to his mind. Without saying anything, he stood up and made his way to the front door. "Two birds with one stone," he said, smiling. "I’ll go and talk to them, right now. They can ask me all the questions they want until their faces turn blue, as long as they don't come bothering us here ever again."

Ron gave him a thumbs up, but the women had looks of concern on their faces. "Are you sure Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, "There's bound to be some people out there who aren't as happy with you as others are."

Harry shrugged. "I'll be alright Mum, really. And no, you guys don't have to come..." he said as the other three stood up to go with him.

Ginny shook her head firmly. "No choice, Mr. Potter," she said with a smile. "We do this together."

Harry looked to Hermione and Ron and saw the same look of determination on their faces as well. He sighed, then smiled. "Thanks," he said, as he opened the door and they all made their way down the path and driveway.

 

* * *

 

Some hours later, the reporters had exhausted all their questions and Harry had delivered a rather stern ultimatum to them all about coming back to the Burrow. As they all started Apparating away, one of them made his way up to Harry. He was a shorter fellow and he carried a briefcase with him.

"Ah, sorry to impose," the man said, putting a large smile on his face. "I'm not a reporter, I promise." This was said quickly, as if he thought Harry and the others would pull their wands out on him. "My name is Walden Quickthistle, and I am one of the managing partners of the Nimbus company. I've come with a deal for you directly from the owners."

This got their attention. What did the company who had created the Firebolt and Nimbus brands want with them? As they all looked at each other the stout man continued.

"As you may or may not know, we've been working on a brand new broomstick design, meant for world-class Quidditch competition, and we'd like to have your endorsement." As he said this he reached into his briefcase. It must have had the same charm on it that Hermione had done with their bags months ago, because in a moment, he had pulled out a standard-sized broomstick, holding it out in front of them. "This, friends, is the Eclipse."

All four of them walked closer to take a look at the broom. It reminded Harry of his Firebolt, but more sleek. The bristles on the back were perfectly manicured and looked almost glossy in the sunlight. The body and handle were wooden, but it looked to have been stained in a dark shade of blue and perfectly polished. Mr. Quickthistle was true to his name and was spouting off facts and details as fast as his mouth could move.

Harry took it all in, looking up at the representative. "You want me to endorse the broom for you?"

"Oh yes Mr. Potter," he said as he bobbed his head up and down, "and not just you, all four of you."

This stunned the lot of them. "All of you are very popular right now, as you saw just minutes ago. It would do my company very well to have all your endorsements, and for your troubles, you would each receive an Eclipse, one of the very first few produced, plus a very generous stipend."

He opened his briefcase once more and pulled out three more of the dark blue broomsticks. Excitement ensued, as all four of the friends looked at each other and agreed silently. Harry, the de facto group leader, agreed with Mr. Quickthistle. The short man was extremely happy and the details of their endorsements were quickly worked out. He left them momentarily to go retrieve a photographer from the company headquarters, so that a slew of banners and advertisements could be made for the release announcement of the new product. He quickly assured Hermione, who wasn't a fan of flying on broomsticks to begin with, that it wouldn't be a problem with him.

He left them there alone for a few moments, each of the four holding their new broomsticks and grinning foolishly at each other. "Harry," Ginny said slowly, "D'you realize that the Gryffindor team is nowgoing to be pretty much unbeatable this year?" She had this wild look in her eyes that Harry had come to love.

"I was thinking the same thing, Gin...." he said.

Even Hermione was appreciating the broomstick, turning it over and over in her hands. "It's beautiful," she said, with her own look in her eyes. Ron smiled and wrapped his arm around her. "Looks like we'll be giving Hermione some flying lessons after all."

 

* * *

 

As the days went on, Harry, Hermione and Ginny found themselves wishing there was more for them to do than just lounge around the Burrow and the occasional list of chores. Ron must have been feeling it too, making it a point to be at George’s shop every day it was open. They had all made more trips into Diagon Alley, but even that was getting tiring, especially with all the questions and requests for autographs they were getting from random people.

Harry and Ginny had taken a few day trips to visit with Teddy and his grandmother, Andromeda. The little boy wasn’t more than two months old, yet he recognized the both of them with a big smile. He had definitely inherited his mother’s Metamorphmagus abilities, changing his hair color and style to whoever was holding or playing with him.

Andromeda was glad to have Harry and Ginny’s help in watching little Teddy every few days, though she had put up a good resistance to accepting the money Harry had given to them. She was insistent that she had enough money plus what Remus and Nymphadora had left behind, but eventually she had given up on her protests and had hugged Harry so tightly that he was blue from lack of breath afterwards.

One Sunday morning in the middle of June, they were all sitting around in a small grove of trees near the clearing where the Weasley’s played Quidditch. Yawns were had all around, they had all stayed up late the night before talking and cuddling in their pairs.

Harry was feeling extremely tired for some reason even though he thought he had slept well. He was laying on the grass and Ginny had pulled his head onto her lap, idly playing with his hair while they chatted.

After a particularly loud yawn Hermione spoke up. “You know, we left quite a bit of stuff behind at Grimmauld Place. Maybe we should stop over there today?”

Harry and Ginny nodded. “Hey that’s not a bad idea,” Harry said, turning his head to look at Hermione.

“Is it safe though?” Ron asked, stretching his arms up. “I mean, I’m sure the Death Eaters got into it after we had to leave it.”

Harry sat up, still leaning a bit against Ginny. “I’m not sure, but there’s one way to find out… Kreacher, I need to speak with you!”

A moment passed and then a loud Crack! signaled the arrival of the house elf in the middle of all of them. Kreacher looked around for a moment to get his bearings. “Master Harry called for Kreacher?” he said, looking around at the others and bowing to all of them, including Hermione, surprisingly.

“Yes Kreacher, err, how have you been?” Harry asked, noticing that the little house elf was still looking good and wearing clean clothes as he had been when they had been staying at Grimmauld Place the last summer.

“Kreacher has been well Master Harry. Kreacher has been busy keeping up Master’s home and helping at Hogwarts, as Master wished him.”

“Err, so Grimmauld Place is safe to visit then?” Harry turned to look at the rest of them with a smile.

“Of course Master Harry. After the unwanted visitors came and looked around Master’s home, they left and did not return. Kreacher spent two weeks cleaning up after them, Kreacher did,” the house elf said with a scowl, which looked rather scary on his old face.

“Thanks Kreacher,” Harry said as he stood, putting out a hand out to Ginny to help her up. “We’ll be by there in a little bit.”

“Very good Master Harry. Should Kreacher prepare a meal?”

Harry shrugged. “Not sure Kreacher, but maybe. We don’t know how long we’ll be.”

Kreacher nodded and disappeared away.

Hermione smiled. “Well, he’s looking good,” she said, getting up off the ground and brushing dirt off her jeans.

“Yeah,” Ron said with a smirk, “still old and off in the head, but looking okay.” He winced at the punch Hermione landed on his arm but still grinned at her. “Hey, okay okay, I’ll be nice to him…”

 

* * *

 

 

Thirty minutes later they all apparated to the front step of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry had taken Ginny in a Side-Along since she wasn’t able to take the test for her own license for a few more weeks. Hermione pushed open the door and Kreacher was there in an instant.

“Master Harry, friends of Master, welcome back to Master’s home…” he said with a hint of a smile.

The place did indeed look cleaned up a bit more than it had been the last summer when Harry, Ron and Hermione had hidden out there. Kreacher must have spent some time here, Harry mused, wondering just how much of an impact giving Regulus Black’s locket back to Kreacher had done.

They spread out around the house in their pairs, still wary of the fact that there could have been some traps or hexes left behind. After a while, it seemed evident that Kreacher had been true to his word and the lot of them gathered up everything that had been left behind. It took longer than they had originally thought, but once everything was done they were famished. Kreacher, astute even in his old age, had realized this and had a tureen of stew ready for them.

As they were eating, Harry started thinking again. After a few whispers to the others, he cleared his throat. “Kreacher?” he called out, looking at the elf from across the room. The house elf dropped the pot he was cleaning into the sink and made his way to Harry.

“Yes Master Harry? Is everything ok with the stew sir?” he asked, looking anxious.

Harry grinned, “Yes, it’s fine, thank you. I was doing some thinking though Kreacher. I’d like for you to take Regulus’ room upstairs as your own, instead of sleeping by the heater. Would you be ok with that?”

Hermione was looking at Kreacher very apprehensively, as was Ginny. Giny put a hand on Harry’s shoulder and squeezed, one of the things she did to show Harry she was behind him all the way.

Kreacher stared up at Harry for a long moment, then croaked out a response. “M… Master Harry is not making a joke is he?”

Harry shook his head and started to say something but Kreacher had already thrown himself to the ground, howling in the usual way a house elf did. It took some doing, but Ginny and Hermione were finally able to get him to relax after about 15 minutes, so overcome with his new room Kreacher was. Harry figured this must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the saying went, because Kreacher had let the two ladies touch him as they helped him stand up, not even calling Hermione a ‘Mud-Blood’ or Ginny a ‘Blood-Traitor’.

The house elf looked up at Harry with big eyes and a strange, crooked smile. “Thank you Master Harry, Kreacher shall treasure this gift for the rest of his life.”

Harry nodded and smiled. “One other thing Kreacher, and you don’t have to answer me right away either. I would be much happier with you doing everything you do for me if I was paying you to do it. So, I’ll leave it up to you to think about it, and how much you’d like each week. Deal?”

Kreacher looked at Harry with what could almost be a scowl but it turned into a small smirk. “Master Harry is too generous. A house elf is not needing to be paid. But, as Master Harry wishes, Kreacher will think about it.”

The house elf bowed low and then left the kitchen, ostensibly to move into his new room.

Hermione was beaming at Harry. “That was really kind of you Harry. I think you just cemented his loyalty to you.”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe. It was the right thing to do,” he said, pushing his empty bowl back from his place at the table. “I dunno, just doesn’t feel right to have someone serve me all the time. Though,” he said with a grin, “being called Master Harry all the time does make one feel pretty important.”

Ron burst out laughing as Hermione sighed and shook her head. Ginny was giggling too and made a retort after catching her breath. “As long as you don’t expect any of us to call you that, Harry.”

 

* * *

 

A while later, Harry, Ginny and Ron were relaxing on a couch downstairs in the living room. Hermione had mentioned something about finding one of her books she thought she had left behind and was upstairs. They were talking about the upcoming school year and how much fun it was going to be playing Quidditch again, especially with their new brooms.

Ron, who had grown a little more perceptive in his time with Hermione, kept looking up at the grandfather clock in the room. After a while, he got up and told the other two that he was going to go check on Hermione, since it had been a while since they’d heard anything from upstairs.

After checking in a few of the upstairs bedrooms, he finally found her in the bedroom that she had been using the summer before, sitting on the bed and facing away from the door. It looked to him like she was crying a little and he immediately got worried.

“‘Mione? You ok?” He asked quietly, walking into the room and stopping next to her.

She had definitely been crying and wiped her cheek before looking up at Ron with a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m ok. Nothing happened, I just got to thinking about my parents is all.”

Ron took a seat next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. He had been meaning to ask her when she was planning to go to Australia and get them back, but he knew it was a touchy subject for her.

Hermione leaned into him, staring at the wall opposite them. “I know that I need to go get them, but I keep thinking of reasons to not do it. What if it’s not safe yet to bring them back? What if I get them settled back into their home and the rest of the Death Eater’s hiding out there want to strike back?”

She sniffled a little. “I know that it could take months, even years to track them all down, so it really wouldn’t be prudent to leave them down there, but…”

Hermione choked up a bit, burying her face into Ron’s shoulder. He started to rub her back lightly, trying to comfort her. “You’re worried if they’re still there, where you left them, and if they’re ok. You’re worried about what will happen when you restore their memories, if they’re going to be mad at you, if they want to stay there…”

She nodded, and murmured into his arm. “and if they like you…” With another sniffle, she raised her head and looked at him. The sadness on her face was like a stab to his heart, he didn’t ever like seeing her upset.

“Whatever happens ‘Mione, I’ll be there with you,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Hermione smiled at that. “Ron, you don’t have to come with me…”

He shook his head, interrupting her. “Like hell I don’t! Of course I’m coming with you. ‘Mione, I’ve had feelings for you for so many years and I just stopped being a prat about it so yes, I’m coming with. I have a lot of time to make up for, when I’ve come up short for you.” A smile crossed his face. “Let’s go tomorrow.”

She looked at him slowly, a confused look on her face. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he said slowly as if he were someplace else in his mind. “We can take a portkey there, I’m sure Kingsley can set that up for us, and we can go see your parents. We can stay there a few days too, see the beaches, a vacation of sorts. Just you and me.”

She regarded him for a moment and then a smile broke out on her face. “Just you and me,” she repeated quietly. Wrapping her arms over his shoulders, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. They came up for air about a minute later, but only pulled apart a few inches, leaning their foreheads against each other.

“I love you, Ronald Weasley,” she said quietly, looking down at the fingers that had just interlaced with hers.

“I know you do, ‘Mione,” he said with a smile. “And I love you.”

 


	7. In Which The Author is a Tease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. I’m only providing the storyline after the 7th book.

** Chapter 7 - In Which The Author is a Tease **

“Oi, careful!” Ron said loudly, sitting on his bed and ducking away from the leather-bound book heading for his head.

His room had been turned into a mess in the last hour or so as Hermione rummaged through both of their things, trying to decide what to pack to take with them. She peeked up from behind the other end of the desk and winced apologetically.

“Sorry Ron,” she said before going back through the stack of books she had pulled out of her handbag, “I was meaning to chuck it into the pile of books we don’t need. I just need to find that one about memory charms…”

That last part was half-muttered as if she were talking to herself. Ron looked around the room and grinned. He loved it when Hermione had these moments. She could get so one-track minded about things and if it were particularly important to her she got this wild look in her eyes, as if the task at hand couldn’t be finished in time.

Of course if he said this to her face he would find himself getting punched, or glared at, so he didn’t utter a word. He had already packed a few changes of his clothes into the old duffel bag on which Hermione had casted her Undetectable Extension Charm, had changed into pajamas, and was waiting for her to gather the rest of what she needed before they got some sleep. They had to be up very early the next morning.

“So, tell me again why we have to be up before dawn?” he asked with a loud yawn as he waved his wand lazily, cleaning up and storing things away behind Hermione.

Hermione sighed. “Because Sydney is 9 hours ahead of us Ron,” she said, finally finding the book she was after and stuffing it in their duffel bag. “Noon here is nine o’clock at night there so the earlier we leave, the earlier in the day we get there and the faster we can find my parents. We need to get to the Ministry early enough too so we can find Kingsley and get him to approve the Portkey before it gets too busy over there.”

She took one more look around the room, then sat down heavily on the bed next to Ron. Taking out her own wand she waved it around with a swish and a flick, sending everything that she had messed up to it’s proper place. Laying back on the bed she let loose a long puff of air, as if she were releasing all the pent-up energy she had shown while packing.

Ron smiled over at her and picked her legs up off the floor, bringing them up onto his lap. “So, got everything we need?” he asked quietly.

Hermione nodded. “I think so, and if we need anything in a pinch there’s always Paragon Alley.”

There must have been a look of confusion on his face, because Hermione broke out into a giggle. “I forget you haven’t been down there. They have a near copy of Diagon Alley down there, same owners or something.”

Ron smirked. “Let me guess, you enter it from a pub.”

Hermione nodded, still grinning. “The Faulty Cauldron.”

“Where’s the creativity in that?” he asked the ceiling, rolling his eyes.

They sat there like that for a few moment, enjoying the breeze coming through the open window before Hermione piped up, quietly. “Is your Mum ok with this Ron?”

Ron looked down at her with a small shrug and started massaging her feet. “I don’t think she likes the fact that I’m going to be gone for up to a week so soon after being gone almost a whole year, but that’s just her being protective you know?”

Hermione just nodded, a small small on her face. “That feels good Ron,” she said, closing her eyes. Before putting her wand on the bedside table she waved it once and tapped herself. The t-shirt and shorts she had been wearing turned into a tank top and flannel pajama bottoms.

Ron continued to do what he was doing, occasionally rubbing up and down her legs as well. He knew she was feeling anxious, feeling all the tense spots as he worked them out. He could hear little moans escaping her mouth and he had to smile at them. Considering other people’s feelings and helping them feel better had never been his strong suit, he knew. He was just glad that he could help Hermione right now and hopefully get her through the next few days.

“Ron, your hands are like magic,” Hermione breathed out, enjoying his ministrations. She didn’t particularly want him to stop but she wanted him closer and so she reached out a hand to him and pulled him down next to her when he took it. A smile crossed her face as she felt him kiss her cheek. She curled up against him as he turned the light off.

Once they were settled, Ron’s hands didn’t stop their wandering. He massaged her exposed shoulder and arm for a while before settling his arm around her. As had been their custom the last few nights, he felt for her hand so they could interlace their fingers together. She found his first though and put her hand on top of his, guiding it until it rested between the mounds on her chest.

Ron was surprised at this and smiled to himself a bit before kissing the back of her head. Knowing that she was about to fall asleep he said goodnight to her quietly and closed his eyes as well, letting himself fall asleep.

 

* * *

 

It was early in the night still and the Burrow’s other new couple were outside in the garden, laying on a blanket. Ginny had her head on Harry’s chest and one of her legs over his, using his body like a pillow of sorts. Harry didn’t mind this at all, he was quite enjoying the closeness between them.

They were talking on and off, not really having a meaningful conversation. Even during the quiet moments it felt as if they were communicating somehow.

“This is nice,” Ginny said quietly as she shifted a bit to look up at him. “Just what I wanted things to be like a year ago, before everything that happened. Just the two of us together, nothing to worry about or be afraid about, no life and death situations. Just two normal people.”

He smiled down at her. “I know what you mean Gin’,” he said. “I’m about as happy as anyone could be right now. Though,” he added as an afterthought, “I don’t know exactly how ‘normal’ we are really.“

Ginny swatted his arm in mock protest but giggled all the same. “Harry…” she started to say, before being interrupted by a rather loud owl’s hoot.

Just behind them a large, tawny owl landed on the grass with a roll of parchment attached to it’s leg. Ginny looked up at the bird with a puzzled look as Harry reached over to untie the letter. As he looked at the front of it the large owl flew away again, stopping to drink a bit at the pond before flying off

The top of the small note was addressed to Harry and he showed it to Ginny, not recognizing who’s writing it was.

“Well, aren’t you going to open it?” Ginny asked, eager to see who was sending Harry a message this late.

He unrolled the short note and held it up so that they could both read it by the little bit of light coming from the back porch.

_Harry,_

_I am glad to see that you were victorious over Voldemort and that things are starting to return to normal in the world. I just thought I would let you know that your Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin Dudley are safe and all moved back into their home in Little Whinging. Their time away from home wasn’t without it’s troubles but everything turned out splendidly and they’re glad to be home. I know it is hard to believe, but they do wish to know how you are doing._

_At your service,_

_Hestia Jones._

Harry could feel the surprise on his face as he read the last sentence in the note. His eyebrow lifted as he read the whole note again, before looking down at Ginny. “Well, that’s something I didn’t think I’d ever hear. I wonder if Hestia heard them right.”

Ginny was smiling. “I don’t know Harry, they might have had a change of heart? You should at least stop by so they know you’re alright and everything.”

Harry set the note aside and wrapped his arms around her again, pondering for a moment. “If they had a change of heart, then it would be some kind of miracle,” he said with a smirk.

Feeling the elbow she gave him, he grinned and put his hands up for a moment. “Okay okay, I’ll go see them. Tomorrow’s a good a day as any since Ron and Hermione are going to be gone.”

Ginny nodded on his chest, ruffling his shirt a bit. “I’ll come with you, if you want,” she said quietly, looking back up at him.

“Why?” Harry asked quizzically. “It’s not a particularly nice place and the way they talk about us, magic-users that is…”

“Well, I know whenever you talked about your time there with me it wasn't all that great,” she started, “but I do want to see the house and meet them. It’s a part of you Harry, and I want to know all about you.”

Her cheeks were turning rosy as she said it, the edge of her lips curling up. “Besides, you've seen where I grew up so it’s only fair.”

Harry grinned and pinched her side, causing her to squirm against him and giggle. “Well, you have me there Gin’. It sure would be nice to have you with me,” he said. “I can just imagine the look on Dudley’s face when I introduce you as my girlfriend.”

This set Ginny into another fit of giggles. Even though Harry had ulterior motives in saying it, she was still extremely happy that he thought that way. With a smile on her face she adjusted herself next to him so they were face to face and leaned in to kiss him. That quick and innocent kiss sparked another and another. Soon the two young lovebirds were full on making out.

Ginny had just rolled on top of Harry and was attempting to run her hands under his shirt when she stopped suddenly and scowled. “Mum,” she said quietly, rolling back off of him and propping herself up on her elbow. “She’s back in the kitchen for whatever reason.”

Harry sighed, nodding. “Nice save,” he muttered.

Ginny smirked, a gleam in her eye as they looked at each other for a few moments. Without a word to each other they both got up and walked inside, hand in hand.

Minutes later Ginny was guiding Harry into her room, still holding his hand. She closed the door behind them quietly and turned the lock on the knob. Harry smiled as she did this, taking out his wand and pointing it at the door. “Muffliato,” he muttered before turning his attention back to Ginny.

She pulled him to the bed with a smile on her face that sent his heart pounding. Within moments they were back in the same position they were before, with Ginny on top. Harry reached up and parted Ginny’s hair, tucking it behind her ear. He traced his fingers along her neck lightly before leaning up to plant a few soft kisses there.

Ginny moaned softly as she ran her fingers under his shirt. The sensation of her nails on his skin gave Harry goosebumps up and down his arms. An urge overcame him and he grabbed her shoulders, pulling her down next to him. She squealed a little bit at this but the next moment their lips were pressed together in a fiery kiss. Feeling his tongue begging to be let in, she parted her lips and invited in her guest.

Harry wrapped his arms completely around her and she wrapped a leg around his. All time was lost to the two of them and some time later they fell asleep, wrapped up in each other until morning.

 

* * *

 

When the two finally made their way down for breakfast in the morning, they both had smiles plastered across their faces. Glancing up at a clock, Harry could tell they had slept in pretty late.

“Well there you two are,” Mrs Weasley said with a smile as she set a platter of pancakes in front of them. “I was beginning to think that you’d sleep the whole day away. Ron and Hermione left a few hours ago.”

Ginny tried not to blush. “We were just up late, Mum. Talking about a lot of stuff.” She studied the food in front of her like it was a book, trying not to meet her mother’s eyes.

Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley’s thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. “That’s nice dear. It looks like we’re going to have almost everyone over for dinner tonight,” she said. “Bill and Fleur will be here, your father, Percy, George and Charlie too. Should be a nice night tonight too, maybe we’ll eat outside. So, any plans for the day?” she asked the two.

Harry gave Ginny a look and she returned it with a smile. “Oh, well I got an owl last night. It seems like my aunt and uncle are all moved back into their house, so Ginny and I decided to pay a visit.”

Mrs. Weasley smiled. “That’s good of you Harry, I’m very proud. Let them know I’m glad they’re alright?”

Harry nodded that he would while Ginny scowled, muttering something about it being her idea. He couldn't help but grin and he put his hand on top of hers. That gesture changed her scowl into a smile and they quickly finished up their food.

 

* * *

 

Later that day Harry and Ginny appeared in an alleyway near his once-home, the same one in which he and Dudley had been attacked by Dementors a few years back. The _Pop!_ their Side-Along Apparition had made scared a nearby cat into running away but otherwise the coast was clear.

Ginny’s head bobbed all over as she looked around the neighborhood where Harry had grown up. “It’s all so, sorry Harry, boring!” she exclaimed softly. “All these houses are the same!”

Harry chortled. “No need to apologize Gin, I didn’t like it much either. I guess Uncle Vernon loved it here, it being all normal and standard.” He offered his hand to her as they started walking and within minutes they were standing in front of the door of Number Four Privet Drive. The windows were open and from inside they could hear the sounds of a tv show.

“Oh!” Ginny said quietly. “Is that a fellytision I hear?” she asked.

Harry grinned as he rang the doorbell. “Television, ‘Gin.” It seemed as if Ginny had a little bit of her father’s passion for Muggle items in her.

Moments later the door opened and Harry found himself face to face with his cousin. It was a quiet, tense moment as they regarded each other but then a small smile appeared on Dudley’s face.

“Harry! What are you doing here?” he asked, opening the screen door to let them in.

“Well, err, I got a message saying that you guys were alright and back here. Just wanted to see for myself…” Harry said, trailing off as they stepped inside. Looking around, it seemed as if the Dursley’s hadn’t changed a thing when they got back. Everything was in the same place, though it did look like they had gotten a bigger television.

“Who’s that Dudley?” a woman’s voice called from the hallway. Moments later, Petunia Dursley was visible through a doorway, frozen as she looked at Harry.

“Err, Harry’s here.” Dudley said, closing the door behind them. He looked at Harry, then to Ginny, then back at Harry with a small look of disbelief on his face.

Petunia recovered enough to close her mouth and made her way over to them. “Oh. Hi, Harry.” she said, still somewhat stunned.

Harry felt an elbow in his ribcage and he looked over at Ginny with a smile. “Oh, yes. Dudley, Aunt Petunia, this is Ginny, my girlfriend.”

The little smile came back to Dudley’s face and Petunia’s hard look softened a little bit.

Harry went on. “Sorry if we’re intruding on anything, I just wanted to see if you lot were alright.” He looked around, noticing something off. “Uncle Vernon’s at work I’m assuming?”

Dudley nodded. “He was able to buy back the company after we got back.”

Petunia smirked. “Don’t think he was ever as happy in his life when your, erm, friend told us it was safe again.” She looked to Ginny. “I just made some iced tea, would you care for some?”

Ginny nodded. “That would be fantastic, Mrs. Dursley,” she said. Apparently, Petunia liked something about her because a small smile had appeared on her face for the first time that Harry could remember in years.

They all sat in the living room and Dudley explained what happened after they were moved into the safe house. Of course, Vernon didn’t like it one bit and it took them some getting used to. Harry told them the story of what happened in his year, the short version that is. He left out some of the more gritty parts and things they wouldn’t understand.

“So, this Lord Voldy-thing,” Dudley asked after Harry was done, “he’s gone for good?”

Ginny nodded. “For good.”

Petunia nodded. “That’s good to hear. I was thinking when you showed up here again you were going to give us more bad news, Harry.”

Harry had to smirk. “Not this time, I’m afraid.”

She returned the smirk back and set down her cup of tea. “I’ll be right back, there’s something I need to give you.”

Harry looked at her, wondering what it was. Ginny on the other hand was looking at the television, extremely interested in it. She started asking Dudley some question as Harry zoned out. He realized that he was pretty tired and stifled a yawn as Petunia came back into the room.

His aunt handed him a letter and Harry recognized the writing on the front immediately as his mother’s. “Erm, Harry. Your mother sent this to me a little before you came to us and asked that you read it on your 11th birthday.”

Harry looked at her, mouth agape. He was about to be angry and Petunia could see it.

“I’m sorry Harry, but with your Uncle not caring for any of it and me still disliking her, I had forgotten about it until we came back here.” She watched him, looking at the letter. “Probably be best to open it when you get hom- Err, wherever you are now,” she said, looking at Ginny. “We’ve gotten through all this awfulness in one piece and I’d rather not have to relive any of it.”

Harry took a moment and then looked up at her, nodding. “Yeah, thanks,” was all he could say for a bit.

He and Ginny only stayed for a little bit after that. It was getting slightly more awkward by the minute, until Ginny looked at the clock and mentioned that she and Harry were going to be late for dinner if they stayed much longer.

They stood up to say their goodbyes and Harry gave Petunia a smile. Looking over at Dudley, he put out his hand. “See you around, Big D.”

Dudley took his hand with a smile. “Yeah, Harry.”

With a smirk on his face Harry put his hand on Ginny’s shoulder, deciding to give the Dursley’s a show, and Apparating home right in front of them.

As they landed at the back porch of the Burrow, Ginny started giggling. “Harry! That was a bit evil don’t you think?”

He shrugged, a grin on his face. “Something to remember me by, I suppose.”

 

* * *

 

Harry didn’t have a chance to open and read the letter before dinner. Mrs. Weasley was in her cooking mode and he and Ginny were given things to do as soon as they walked in. Everyone started arriving a few minutes later and they all sat down to eat outside.

Dinner was excellent as usual and Harry found himself quiet and enjoying the food and company. He was still tired and tried his best to stifle a few yawns.

Fleur, who Harry hadn’t seen since Fred’s funeral and whose English was improving rapidly, was sitting next to him and asking him about the upcoming school year. She was excited about something but kept being coy about it. When he asked her what she was going on about, she flushed red.

“Oh, ‘Arry I’m sorry. I cannot say just yet. I have been sworn to seecrecy. Yoo will know soon though,” she said, looking to Bill who had the same coy look on his face.

Harry was about to press further and ask what was going on, when a rather strong yawn overtook him. He supposed the food wasn’t helping his tiredness and he closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again he was back in the Dark Forest, on the ground amongst the leaves. He could hear voices around him and then he felt himself being picked up by Hagrid, who carried him just like a few weeks before. Then, there was the whole school, facing down Voldemort. He could see Neville defying the Dark Lord, who laughed and simply slashed at Neville’s face, ripping it to shreds.

He could see Nagini attacking his classmates, his friends. Death Eaters were blasting holes in the sides of the castle and killing everyone in their way. Voldemort himself was raising his wand at Ginny, ready to cast the Killing Curse.

Harry tried to leap up from where he was on the ground, trying to stop it all, to say that he had died and that they had a promise, but he couldn’t. He was frozen, unable to do anything. A fountain of green light jumped at Ginny, dropping her to the ground. Her lifeless eyes bored into Harry’s mind.

He felt himself screaming and then felt like he was falling. Opening his eyes, he could see the stars and then fuzzy shapes of people crowding around him. He couldn’t make out who was saying what, though he heard some words.

“Dream.” “Nightmare?” “Hallucination?” “Molly, …. Mungo’s…. soaked… sweat.”

He tried to speak, but found he couldn’t so he reached out an arm to the nearest fuzzy shape near him. It worked, but only for a moment as he felt his arm go limp, and then all went black.


	8. Unconditionally - Ginny's Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. I’m only providing the storyline after the 7th book. The song “Unconditionally” and it’s lyrics are the intellectual property of Katy Perry and her representatives.
> 
> This chapter is going to be something totally different than what I’ve written so far. It’s from Ginny’s Point of View, and very short. I had a jolt of inspiration while listening to Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally” on repeat, and decided to create this little interlude. The song fits Ginny perfectly, in my opinion. If I could make a suggestion, turn the song on while you read this, and imagine it as a sort of montage or climax of a movie.

** Chapter 8 - Ginny’s Interlude - “Unconditionally” **

_POV: Ginny_

Ginny was having a good time during dinner. The conversation was so upbeat and light and it seemed like everyone was in good spirits. The sun was just about finished setting beyond the horizon, it’s last light shining through a few trees. Already she could hear the crickets chirping and the garden gnomes chattering in the distance. To her right she could hear her father, Charlie and Percy talking about their work. It seemed as if there were a few Death Eaters still on the loose, but things were looking on the upside.

Harry was sitting to her left on the long bench, a happy but tired look on his face. She had noticed he had been tired all day long and figured that he might not have had much sleep the night before. With a smile, she turned to him and was about to say something when she noticed his eyes close.

_“”Oh no, did I get too close_   
_Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?””_

She frowned, seeing him swaying a bit. It looked like he was dizzy, or about to faint. The moment she put a hand on his shoulder to ask if he was alright, his eyes popped open and he let loose an ear-shattering scream. “NOOOOO! GINNNNNNYY!”

_“”All your insecurities_   
_All the dirty laundry_   
_Never made me blink one time””_

Harry fell back off the bench hitting the ground hard on his back, his head bouncing off the grass a split second later.

_“”Unconditional, unconditionally_   
_I will love you unconditionally””_

The whole table was in an uproar, with people getting up to see what was going on.

“What’s goin on?” Charlie asked from the far side of the table. “Did he have a dream? Nightmare?”

Ginny quickly swiveled on the bench, kneeling in the grass next to Harry. Her heart was racing a mile a minute.

“Harry?! Harry are you okay?”

_“”There is no fear now_   
_Let go and just be free_   
_I will love you unconditionally””_

She could see his eyes open, looking around slowly. Fleur was standing on the bench, looking over all of them. “Eez it a hallucination?” she asked. In a flash, Mr. Weasley was there as well, kneeling on the other side of Harry from Ginny. Arthur’s wand was lit and he was shining it over Harry’s face in the evening darkness. “Merlin’s beard. Molly!” he called out, not looking away from Harry. “Call St. Mungo’s! He’s soaked with sweat!”

_“”Come just as you are to me_   
_Don't need apologies_   
_Know that you are worthy””_

Ginny was sobbing at this point, looking down at him. “Harry!” she pleaded, wanting to reach down and touch him but remembering what had happened the last time. “Please! Harry are you ok?”

_“”I'll take your bad days with your good_   
_Walk through this storm I would_   
_I'd do it all because I love you, I love you””_

For a moment, Ginny thought Harry could hear her. He was looking right at her but his eyes were all hazy and rolling up past his eyelids. He reached up his arm at her slowly, but it fell back at his side the next moment. He made a choking noise and then his head tilted to the side, eyes wide open.

_“”Unconditional, unconditionally_   
_I will love you unconditionally””_

Mr. Weasley gasped and pressed two fingers to Harry’s neck, checking for a pulse. Leaning down, he tried to listen over all the commotion.

_“”There is no fear now_   
_Let go and just be free_   
_I will love you unconditionally””_

Arthur’s eyes went wide, looking around. “He’s not breathing!” he said quietly, looking stunned.

“NO!” Ginny shouted in between a sob, pushing her father aside. Taking Harry’s head in her hands she looked into his eyes, a wild look in her own. “Harry! No, you can’t leave me!”

_“”So open up your heart and just let it begin_   
_Open up your heart, and just let it begin””_

The whole world was just her and Harry at that point. Everything else didn’t matter. She looked at him, her tears falling onto his face. He couldn’t be gone! Not her Harry! Slowly, she bent down and kissed him on the lips.

The moment their lips connected, Ginny could feel a warm glow at her center, near her heart. She felt it radiate out from her and surrounding the both of them.

_“”Open up your heart, and just let it begin_   
_Open up your heart!””_

All of a sudden she could feel him breathing through their kiss. She opened her eyes and saw that Harry’s eyes were now closed, his head leaning to the side again. But he was breathing damnit!

Another sob escaped her and she felt someone behind her, putting their arms around her. She fell back into them, her eyes not leaving Harry’s face.

_“”Acceptance is the key to be_   
_To be truly free_   
_Will you do the same for me?””_

The stunned look on Arthur Weasley’s face hadn’t left as he checked on Harry, then looked to Ginny with disbelief. “He… He’s breathing again!” he shouted.

_“”Unconditional, unconditionally_   
_I will love you unconditionally_   
_And there is no fear now_   
_Let go and just be free””_

Ginny watched the scene, not knowing what was going on. The only thing that mattered was Harry, and he was still alive. The only thing that mattered….

“Why am I feeling dizzy?” she thought to herself slowly, and then everything blacked out.

_“”'Cause I will love you unconditionally (oh yeah!)_   
_I will love you_   
_I will love you_   
_I will love you unconditionally!””_

 

 

 


	9. Revelations Down Under

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: The Potter universe and all it’s characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. I’m only providing the storyline after the 7th book.
> 
> We’re back to Hermione and Ron this chapter, enjoy! As far as I know, the real names of Hermione’s parents were never in the books, movies, or interviews from JKR, so I’m giving them names for the sake of conversations.

**Chapter 9 - Revelations Down Under**   


Ron and Hermione arrived in Sydney with a loud _Thump!_ Both of them groaned a bit as they got their bearings.

"Blimey," Ron started, leaning over and putting his hands on his knees to help with the dizziness. "I don't remember Portkeys throwing me off that much. It felt like forever too."

Hermione seemed to recover a little more quickly and moved over to him to rub his back lightly. "Longer distance, Ron. We weren't just jumping from one end of the country to the other this time."  

She looked around the area, noting that the Portkey had taken them exactly where the Transportation Department witch said it would go. The fact that Minister Shacklebolt had been there to supervise the forming of this particular Portkey had probably helped.

They were both in small hidden orchard of trees, and not too far away they could hear the sounds of children playing and cars beeping. True to Kingsley's word they had arrived safely at Poplar Grove, one of the Australian Ministry of Magic's international arrival points. It was a shielded and charmed area within one of the large city's many public parks.

A little chuckle behind them surprised them to the point of drawing their wands. They wheeled around, only to find a little tony witch, almost the same height as Professor Flitwick. She smiled warmly but couldn't hide the grin behind it.

"Welcome to Australia dears, sorry to have startled you."

Ron looked a bit sheepish as they both stowed their wands away.

"Sorry," Hermione said, a wince on her own face. "Old habits."

The witch nodded. "Understandable. Your Minister Shacklebolt explained everything to our own Minister already. Nothing to worry about! Now, I hear that you're here to retrieve two people?"

Hermione nodded back. "Yes, I ermm, sent my parents here last year to stay safe from the threat of You-Know-Who and it's time I brought them home."

"Ah, very good. Well, our Minister wishes to inform you that while you are here, you are more than welcome to request our aid at any time. Simply stop in at the Faulty Cauldron and the barkeep there will get word to us." With that, she bowed a tiny bit and Apparated away.

Ron looked at Hermione. "Well, that was a warm welcome. I wonder what else we can get Kingsley to do for us," he said, only half joking. He received a nudge on the side from Hermione for that, even though she was grinning.

"Lets get going then," she said, holding out her hand to Ron. "I want to see if we can find my parents today."

That Hermione didn't know exactly where her parents would be had been discussed earlier that morning. She had explained to Ron that she had placed a very strong Memory Block charm on the both of them, along with a suggestion to move to Sydney. "For obvious reasons," she had said, "I didn't check up on them or try to figure out where they had went."

Ron had made a comment then about looking for a needle in a haystack but Hermione shook her head. "Ron, I didn't alter their memories all that much. If I know them, they'll have joined a Dentistry practice or started their own by now."

And so, as the two walked out of the park, Hermione kept her eye out for a public pay-phone. It took a few blocks of walking to finally find one that also had a phone book. She quickly thumbed through the businesses section as she explained to Ron what the purpose of a phone book was.

"So much extra work," Ron muttered to himself, wondering how Muggles got on without magic.

After a few minutes Hermione grabbed at Ron's sleeve and pointed excitedly at a entry. "Wilkins Dentistry! Of course they would start their own here too!"

She was all smiles and Ron couldn’t help but smile as well. He was glad they were getting somewhere and that Hermione was already feeling better about the whole situation. Hermione pulled a map of Sydney out of her handbag and compared it to the street name listed in the phone book.

“Drat,” she started softly. “They’re clear on the other side of the city from here.”

A smirk crossed Ron’s face as he had an idea. “I don’t suppose they have a Knight Bus here,” he asked jokingly.

Hermione shook her head. “You would think, but no they don’t. I guess we’ll have to take a normal taxi.”

 

* * *

 

About an hour later Hermione was handing their cab driver a few bills, which he took as he gave Ron one more quizzical look before driving off. Hermione smiled and sighed at this, giving Ron a look.

Ron was looking sheepish once again. “I overdid it on the questions, didn’t I?”

“Well, ermm. Yes, but it’s ok.” Hermione kissed him on the cheek then patted her coat pocket where Ron saw the tip of her wand.

“You didn’t,” he said, grinning as well.

She put a finger to her lips and smiled. “I did.” Taking his hand, she turned to see the small building with the Dentistry sign over the doorway. A check of her watch and then the sign on the door made her frown.

“Ok, so they’re closing in about twenty minutes for the day… I was hoping to try and get an emergency appointment set up so we could lift the Memory Block here, but we’ll need to wait until they head home.” She was starting to wring her hands and a frown crept onto her face. “Maybe that’s for the best.”

Ron took her hands into his and put a comforting smile on for her. “Everything will work out ‘Mione.” There was a soft tone to his voice as he pulled her into a hug.

Hermione nodded into his shoulder. “I know, I know. I’m just wondering and fretting, but what if they like it here too much and would rather stay? What if my Memory Block was too strong?”

She was getting all anxious and worried again and Ron knew he had to head that off. Planting a kiss on the top of her head, he squeezed her tighter in his arms. “Don’t get all worried babe, we’ll figure it all out.”

Knowing that he had to take a little initiative for the moment, he looked around and noticed a bench across the street from where they were. He led her there and they sat, giving themselves a nice view of the building. “Now we can see when they leave and where they go when they do.”

Hermione nodded, calming down and putting a resolute look on her face. “Good thinking.”

True enough about a half hour later the two watched as the last patients left the building, closely followed by her parents. Ron could feel Hermione tense up as she saw them. They watched as her father locked the door behind them and then take his wife’s hand as they started to walk down the sidewalk.

Ron and Hermione waited a few moments and then started following them, their own hands clasped together. It turned out that her parents lived only a few minutes away from their practice and soon the younger couple was standing a few houses down, thinking about what to do.

Hermione had calmed down during the walk there and was looking around the neighborhood. Seeing a For Sale sign in the yard of one of the houses, she caught a bit of inspiration. Taking Ron’s hand in her’s, she led them down the street and up the walk to her parent’s door.

“Follow my lead,” she said as she rang the doorbell.

Ron was about to protest but he saw the look of resolve on her face. As the door opened, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and turned to look at the house.

Hermione’s father had opened the door and looked at the both of them. “Hello,” he said with a warm smile, “Can I help you two?”

Hermione froze for just a moment but then smiled as well and spoke up. “Erm, hello. We’re sorry to intrude, but we’re thinking about moving into the neighborhood and were wondering a little about the area, the type of people, what there is to do around here…” she trailed off, smiling.

Her mother had just come to the door as well, and was looking at the two of them. “Oh, of course dear,” she said with a smile. “Please, Wendell invite them in. I’ll get some tea.”

Ron looked over to Hermione and smiled, amazed at her brilliance sometimes. They followed her father into the living room where he offered them a seat on the couch as Monica came in with a tray of tea things.

She set down saucers and cups in front of Hermione and Ron with a smile. “So, you were thinking about moving in down the street you said? That would be Mrs. Highsmith’s place, bless her. She’s in a better place now. Oh, sorry, I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves, I’m Monica and this is my husband Wendell.”

“I’m Hermione and this is Ron, my boyfriend,” Hermione said, looking over to the other couch where her parents were sitting. Her father frowned slightly when she had said her name.

“Hermione, that’s such a lovely name,” Monica said with a smile, taking a sip of her tea.

Noticing that her presence was starting to work against the Memory Block charm, Hermione decided that it was time. With a look over to Ron for some moral support, she whipped out her wand and muttered something under her breath.

The air inside the living room grew warm and there was a loud Crack! followed by a flash of yellow light. Ron hadn’t been prepared for it and blinked a few times.

Hermione on the other hand was staring intently at her parents as they too recovered from the sudden light and noise. They looked as if they had just been hit with a Stunning Jinx for a moment and then they blinked before looking at each other, then back over to Hermione.

“Erm, Hermione?” her father asked, shaking his head once as if to clear a ringing in his ears, “would you mind telling us why we’re in Australia?”

Hermione squealed in excitement and lept up to go hug her parents. They both sandwiched her in a large group hug, leaving Ron sitting on the other couch with a huge smile on his face. Both Hermione and her mother cried a little and it took a few minutes for them all to settle down.

As Hermione sat down again, her father looked at Ron. “Ronald, right? One of Hermione’s friends from school. Weasley, if I remember right? We met your parents once.”

Ron nodded. “That’s right sir,” he said quietly.

Hermione had sat down pretty close next to Ron, and her parents picked up on this pretty quickly. “He’s more than just a friend it seems Roger,” her mother said with a smile.

Both Hermione and Ron blushed at that.

Roger smiled warmly before speaking. “Well, that’s something else I’m sure we’ll be talking about but a bigger question begs answering. What happened Hermione? We’ve been here for what, a year? I think we couldn’t remember who we were before that.”

Hermione nodded and took a deep breath before starting in on explaining. It took her a while to explain why she did what she did, and most everything that she, Ron and Harry had done the past year. For the most part she spoke without being interrupted but there were some questions from her parents.

She left out some chunks in time but told them everything about what had happened at Malfoy Manor. Ron had figured she’d leave out the bit about being tortured with the Crucio Curse but he understood why she didn’t. As she explained about Ron calling out for her, both of her parents looked at him, and her mother put her hand near her heart.

Hermione finished with what had happened in the past few weeks and then fell silent, looking at the both of them. They both took a moment to let it all sink in and then looked at each other. Hermione’s mother spoke up first.

“Well, I have to say that was quite a year you two had, I’m just glad that you’re alive and unscathed.”

Roger nodded. “Agreed, Alice. Now, there’s the matter of you two.”

Hermione blushed. “Yes, we’re more than just friends Dad. Ron and I are together.” She said it simply, taking Ron’s hand in hers.

Ron smiled at her as she did that, then seemed to focus on something over her shoulder.

Her father smiled and looked at the two of them seriously. “Have you two been having sex then?” was the blunt question out of his mouth.

“Roger!”

Alice was looking at him, mortified.

“Well dear, they’re both old enough to know what it is and they are at that age…” he said seriously, looking at them for the answer.

Hermione’s face was a deep shade of red by this point. “No, Dad. We haven’t had sex yet.” She looked over to Ron, who was still staring at something over her shoulder. “Ron? What are you looking at?” she asked quietly, wondering why he was spacing out at such an important moment.

Ron had been looking at a photograph on the mantlepiece, and slowly looked to Hermione before looking at her parents. He started to ask a question when the front door opened and a young girl walked in, setting a school bag down on the floor.

“Mum, Dad, I’m home!”

 

* * *

 

To say that Hermione looked stunned was an understatement. She was frozen in her seat. Ron looked between the girl that had walked in and back to Hermione’s parents, who were looking at Hermione’s reaction. He was pretty flabbergasted himself and squeezed Hermione’s hand.

“Mum, who are our guests?” the little one asked. She looked to be around nine or ten years old, with wavy brown hair and glasses. Alice quickly stood and went over to the girl, kissing her on top of her forehead when she reached her. “Erm, I’ll tell you in just a moment dear. Why don’t you scoot over into the kitchen and make yourself something to eat and we’ll be right there.”

The little girl nodded and looked curiously at Ron and Hermione before going through a doorway. Hermione watched her until she was out of sight, then looked to her parents.

Alice crossed the room and sat next to Hermione. “Hermione, I was hoping to explain before she got home…” she started.

Hermione looked to her. “I have a sister?” she asked quietly, still not believing it.

Alice nodded. “Just a few months ago. Hermione, you have to remember that we thought we had no children and we had been thinking about adopting. We got a phone call just after Christmas that there was a little girl who had been at the orphanage for a little while and they said they thought she would be a perfect match.”

Roger took over explaining. “When the social worker brought her here, we knew after just a few hours that she belonged with us. It took a few weeks of paperwork and more visits, but we were finally able to adopt her.”

Ron took Hermione’s hand and held it tight knowing that his girlfriend was going through a lot, and he wanted her to know that he was there for her. Hermione looked at him and smiled softly in thanks.

“What’s her name?” Hermione asked quietly.

“Isla,” both of her parents said at the same time.

They were all quiet for a moment, Hermione lost in thought. When she looked over at her mother again, she had a smile on her face. “Mum, Dad, I’m really happy, truly. It’s just a giant shock to find out I have a sister now.”

She looked over to the kitchen before speaking again. “Ermm, telling her about me and Ron may be tricky though.”

Roger was puzzled. “I’m sure she won’t be offended that the two of you are together. Blimey, that’s something I didn’t think I was going to say today.”

Hermione smirked. “That part I think will be fine, it’s the erm, special abilities that we have that will cause problems.”

That hit both of her parents hard. It seemed they had forgotten about that little fact. Roger and Alice looked at each other for a long moment.

“Yes, meeting you and learning what you can do would be a little much for her,” Alice said. “We should probably hold off on that.” She thought for a moment. “Hermione, for now would it be ok if we told her that we had given you up as a baby? I just can’t think of any other situation that would make sense without letting her know about how we got here.”

Hermione nodded resolutely. “It would probably be the best option. So I’ve been tracking you down for a while and just found my biological parents.” She smiled. “Well, it has some truth to it.”

Everyone had a smile at that and both of her parents got up to go talk to Isla. When they were both gone from the room Ron turned to look at Hermione and pulled her into a hug.

She was tearing up a little and wiped her cheek clean. “Well,” she said slowly. “I was thinking of so many possible scenarios but this wasn’t one of them.” She noticed the worried look on his face and smiled. “I’m alright Ron, really. It was just a shock. I’m- I’m really happy and excited actually. I always wanted a little brother or sister.”

Ron smiled too. “I’m so happy for you ‘Mione.” He leaned over to kiss her and she met him halfway. They broke their kiss as they heard movement in the next room over and looked up to see her parents walking back into the room with Isla. The girl was a bit shy, but still had that curious look on her face.

“Isla,” Alice started, “this is your sister Hermione and her boyfriend Ron.”

Isla walked over to where they were sitting and smiled. She offered a hand to Ron first and after they had shaken, she looked at Hermione and reached in for a hug. Hermione was a bit surprised, but quickly wrapped her arms around her new sister. Ron could hear a familiar sniffle coming from Hermione before the girls pulled apart.

Isla sat next to Hermione as they all spoke for a while. The story that had been hastily concocted was elaborated on, with everyone playing along. Hermione’s smile was getting wider by the moment.

“Isla, I’m so glad to meet you,” she said looking over at the girl. “I came to find my family, and I’ve gotten more than I thought. How old are you?”

“Eleven. I look younger though, everyone says so.” A smile crossed the girl’s face. “Hermione, can I ask you a question now?”

“Of course Isla, what is it?”

“Why is everyone lying right now?”

The question took everyone aback. Four sets of eyes connected as the adults in the room looked to each other in puzzlement.

“Erm, I don’t understand Isla,” Hermione said. “Why do you think we’re lying?”

“Oh, well, I don’t know how to explain it really but I can tell when people tell fibs, or how they are feeling. I guess I felt like everyone was trying to hide something. I’m usually right about these things too…” Isla said, looking at Hermione and then to her parents. “I thought something was strange since the first time I came here, like maybe something had happened to you, Mum and Dad.”

The wheels were turning in Hermione’s head, and Ron noticed the look of concentration he had seen so often over the years. He was beginning to understand what was going on and he knew what Hermione was going to ask next.

Hermione thought back to seven years previously, when she had first learned about Hogwarts. “Isla, let me ask you something if I can. Have, how do I put it, strange things happened to you before? Maybe something breaking when you get angry, or finding yourself somewhere else in a moment when you felt scared?”

Isla looked at her for a long moment. It looked as if the girl was hesitant to say anything. Hermione took her hand and smiled. “You don’t have to worry about us making fun of you or laughing, Isla.”

You could just see the beginnings of a smile on the edges of the girl’s lips. She nodded tentatively. “It happened a lot when I was at the group home. Some of the other girls would pick on me because I could tell when they were fibbing and they thought I was telling on them. This one time, one of the bullies there was chasing me around the yard and the next thing I knew I was sitting up in a tree.”

Hermione looked dumbfounded. She first looked over to Ron as if to ask his opinion and got a nod in response. Her parents were looking at her strangely, but they too were recalling the visit they had received years ago.

“Isla, I promise we’ll tell you why I’m asking these questions, but I want you to do one more thing for me.” Hermione picked up her empty teacup and held it by the handle. “I want you to close your eyes and really concentrate on this cup. Can you do that for me?”

Isla nodded and squinted her eyes shut.

“Now, if you can see the cup clearly in your mind I want you to think about what would happen if you were the one holding it, and it dropped to the floor.”

Hermione held her breath and waited. Sure enough after a few moments there was a sound of china breaking as the cup shattered into a dozen pieces. Isla’s eyes opened immediately and she saw that Hermione still had the handle around her finger.

The girl’s eyes went wide. “Did I do that? I’m sorry!” she said, looking to her parents.

A smile appeared on both Alice and Roger’s faces.

“Hermione?” her mother asked questioningly, her eyes asking the question on both their minds.

Hermione just nodded and Roger’s eyes went wide.

“Good lord,” he said softly. “That’s unbelievable…”

Isla was looking at everyone in turn, looking frustrated. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

Hermione tried to hold back a giggle but it didn’t work out that well. “Isla, I’m sorry we lied to you before, but we didn’t want to overload you with so many new things after you had just met us. The truth is,” she said slowly, “you are a witch.”

Isla’s eyes turned wide as Dobby’s had so many times. “I’m a w.. witch?”

Hermione nodded. “Yes. You can do magic and it also seems that you have a natural ability to read auras, that’s pretty rare.”

“So, I’m not just making things up in my head?” Isla asked quietly.

“Of course not!” Hermione exclaimed, hugging the girl quickly. “You, little sister are a witch. You have magical powers just like me, and just like Ron.”

The younger girl looked at both of them with shrewd eyes. “Prove it,” she said quietly.

Ron and Hermione both chuckled and looked at each other. He shrugged at Hermione. “Ladies first.”

Hermione took out her wand from her pocket, and pointed it at the broken cup pieces. “Reparo!” she said clearly and everyone watched as the pieces flew and fused back together.

Isla gasped and looked at Ron, who had just pulled out his own wand. “Avis!” he said loudly, and his wand produced two white doves after a loud bang. The birds flew around the room a few times and then out an open window past Isla’s head. The girl turned to see the birds outside and when she turned back Ron conjured a stemless rose from the tip of his wand and placed it in the crevice between Isla’s ear and head.

“Wow…”

 

* * *

 

Over the next few hours Isla learned the truth about everything, including why her new parents were in Sydney to begin with. She took everything pretty calmly and was excited to find out that the Grangers were planning to move back home to Great Britain.

Hermione’s mother grilled shrimp and potatoes for dinner and everyone talked and enjoyed themselves. Ron and Hermione entertained Isla for hours with stories of their adventures and told her all about Hogwarts. Hermione assured her that she would talk with Professor McGonagall about getting her enrolled for the coming school year and Isla was ecstatic to learn that Hermione would be there for the year as well.

All the excitement and news proved to be too much for Isla, who fell asleep on the couch as they were all talking. There was a gentle smile on Hermione’s face as she watched her mother rouse the girl so she could go to bed in her own room. Isla had to have one more hug from her older sister before she went, and Ron swore he could see a tear in Hermione’s eye as they did so.

As the girl walked up the stairs to her room, the Grangers turned to Hermione and Ron.   
  
“Well now,” Mr. Granger said. “Who would have thought. Do you think it’s just a coincidence?”

Hermione shrugged, feeling tired after the emotion-filled day. “It’s possible. I remember Professor Dumbledore tell me once that there’s so much that’s unknown about what we can do. It’s entirely possible that her abilities brought you together, that she could sense that you knew something or could help her even though you couldn’t remember at the time. Ron and I can talk with the Australian Ministry of Magic too, in case this was their doing, but I don’t think so.”

She yawned loudly, then looked sheepishly at everyone. “Sorry.”

Mrs. Granger smiled. “I’m sure you two had a long day as well, even though it was short in time. There’s a guest room down in the basement, you should get some sleep.” She eyed her husband before going on. “It is only one bed down there. I’m assuming that’s not going to be a problem for you two.”

Ron and Hermione blushed profusely and both shook their heads together.

“That’s fine,” Roger said, “Just no funny business down there, okay?” The statement was made at both of them, but he seemed to be looking more at Ron than his daughter.

“Of course Dad,” Hermione said with a smile. She stood and hugged them both again. “I’m so glad that I found you both okay,” she said over her mother’s shoulder.

A few minutes later, Ron closed the door behind himself and Hermione. She made straight for the bed and practically fell down on it as Ron dropped their duffel bag against the wall. He sat down next to her, moving the hair that had fallen on top of her face to the side and smiled.

“Didn’t I say it would all work out?” he said quietly, running his thumb down her cheek before leaning down to kiss her. She sighed loudly against his lips and her arms pulled him down next to her.

Hermione took his head into her hands and held it against hers for a while, eyes closed and a smile on her face. “You were right,” she said quietly. “Everything’s even better than I had hoped. They’re alright Ron, they’re safe and I have a little sister…” She choked up a bit there and buried her face into his chest.

Ron could tell she was crying a little but they were tears of joy. He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair before starting to rub her back as he had the night before. It had a calming effect on her and within minutes he could hearing her normal soft snoring.

He smiled and closed his own eyes, letting his hand float along her back. “Goodnight my love,” he whispered before kissing the top of her head.

 

* * *

 

Well, there it is! Hermione’s parents are safe and sound, and there’s a new addition to the plot! I had planned for the Grangers to have an adopted daughter that Hermione would be surprised with. It made sense to me, seeing as how they would have an empty spot in their hearts. The idea for her to be a witch and aura-reader came as I started writing her character, and I think little Isla will work out very well in this story. It’ll definitely make the year at Hogwarts more fun to write, giving me more content to write, and her aura-reading will be useful down the ways a bit.

I know everyone is on pins and needles wanting to know what the devil happened to Harry and Ginny, and I promise all will be explained next chapter. Well, almost everything anyways.

\- Midnight

 

 


End file.
